Long Vacation
by Yum2
Summary: [ItaNaru] After being ditched by his fiancée on the day of his marriage, Naruto crashes into a bar to drown himself out. And what about the unknown person who wants to share his house now? based on the japanese Drama Long Vacation
1. Prologue

**Long Vacation**

Hi ! this is my birthday present to myself !! Happy birthday to me ! XD (yep I know I'm weird . )

This story had been co-authored by the **StarsOfYaoi** (Do you really think I would not mention it ?) She entrusted me with this plot bunny as she is overloaded with ideas. And beta-ed by **Cyber-Porygon**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto nor make money out of it.

**Summary:** Naruto was to marry his fiancée but she didn't present on the wedding day.

**Warning: **Ita/Naru; one sided Naru/Saku, Sasu/Naru, Sasu/Saku; side pairing Kaka/Obi.

**Prologue:**

Naruto was restlessly fidgeting in his Montsuki kimono. The beautiful tight cloth fitting his built frame perfectly; his eyes were moving everywhere without focusing on what was around him, deep in thought.

Tugging on the sleeves of his black haori uncomfortably, he fought the urge to scratch his face; he felt hot and tight under all those layers of cloths, and the stingy sensation of having make-up plastered on both of his cheeks did not help at all as the sun pounded mercilessly on him.

It would have been better in winter, he thought distractedly, but it was mid-summer –July the 23rd to be precise… his wedding day.

The day he would finally realize his dream…

The most beautiful day of his life!

It did not matter if he had no say on the organization. It was his wedding day; he should not care about anything else.

He had not chosen the date, the place, the cloths, the guests or anything else concerning this day. In fact, he had even been forced to apply make-up, something that was all but manly, in his opinion, and he had done it without protesting, because he could understand his fiancée's desires to control everything, but he _really_ hated it.

"It's to hide those _awful_ scars…," his fiancée had said, with a grimace quickly hidden under a condescending smile. "I want my marriage to be perfect; you can do that for me, ne, Naruto? You understand..."

In fact, he did not really care… he just wanted to marry her.

In his eyes, she was absolute perfection –her flawless pale skin, her slender curves, which made his heart speed up, her long neck where he loved to place butterfly kisses, her light mint green eyes that were full of life, her long and fluffy pink hair that she always kept tied behind her head with bright head–bands.

Everything of her was perfect.

Naruto flushed a bit at the though of his fiancée, his cheeks reddening as he recalled his cherry blossom, not that anyone could see under those layers of make-up. Soon enough she would pass through the gate, dressed in her beautiful Shiro-maku traditional kimono and walk up to him.

Then his dearest dream would come true.

He could almost see her walk towards him with a warm smile, the same smile she reserved for him when they were alone together… hair curling around her face, held up in one of those complicated hairstyles, with one of her creamy white ribbons swaying at all her movements.

Of course her pink hair would be hidden underneath one of those wigs, Naruto knew this, but he was happily picturing her without the wig. He did not like to think of her lush hair hidden underneath some fake hair, but she wanted it.

She spent days in search of her wedding kimono, because she would never stoop as low as to make it an occidental ceremony.

No, her loved one wanted a traditional Japanese wedding, already knowing all the small details that would make it perfect. Naruto knew it was one of her own dreams, to be able to organize the perfect day for her marriage, and he didn't mind. Really...

She had chosen a Kimono that was of her two favourite colours, light pink, a warm pastel tone, and creamy white, so it would not look too shiny; it was large, and by how it had looked on her, uncomfortable, but the blond young man was sure she would deny it.

He had seen the kimono on her, and she looked so different and yet so beautiful… with layers of white fabric pooling around her feet -she had refused to wear normal shoes, stubbornly asking for the traditional and hard to walk with geta-, a high silver-ish white obi tight around her lithe frame and blossoming curves…

He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

Looking around nervously, Naruto bit the inside on his cheeks worriedly, once again preventing his hands from moving upwards to scratch at his sticky cheeks.

His blue eyes finally focused on something as he distractedly moved his gaze from the Torii gate to Iruka, who looked proud and happy for him. The brown haired man had been the only one to care for Naruto, from when he was seven up to now, and Naruto was grateful for all the years Iruka had neglected himself to give Naruto all the things he needed.

Iruka was not Naruto's biological father, but to the blond he was more than just that. For the last sixteen years Iruka had been his father, his confident, and the only person Naruto could turn to when he had a problem.

Naruto did not know what he would have done without the teacher at his side comforting him.

He had been there when all he could see were glares and hatred. He had been there when his first friends entered his life. He had been there when he had felt confused about his life and goals and directions, and then he had been there when his future wife had appeared. He had been there when for an entire year he had courted the pink haired young woman, and he had been there for all the rejection he received from her.

Naruto had never dated anyone else, denying with himself any other attraction but hers.

And now, after six years together, Iruka was there to see Naruto marry the love of his life.

Iruka had showered Naruto with all the love he never had before, and now Naruto wanted to allow the man to have his own happiness in life. He owed him so much, after all.

Looking towards his lovely fiancée's mother, who was currently sitting on a bench bent in two, he saw her serious and unreadable expression and shuddered. He had always felt unwelcome by his lover's parents.

The woman took out from her loosened sleeve a small fan decorated with a sakura flower theme, fanning herself to counter the heat, whilst her husband, dressed maybe even more formally than Naruto himself was, tried to shadow her from the hot July sun.

Had he not been worried about his blossom's whereabouts, Naruto would have smiled at the sight of the proud woman refusing to give in to the heat, fanning herself as if her life depended on it, and the equally proud man refusing to wip the drops of sweat rolling down his forehead whilst showing this light nice acting towards his wife.

Naruto wished for Sakura and himself to end like them, and today was the day he would make the first step to reach this new dream of his.

But now, worry was already shadowing this happiness he felt, invading his mind like a dark plague, seeding it with insecurities he thought he had defeated years before.

All his fantasies slowly disappeared, leaving behind a single urgent question –where _was_ Sakura?

Meeting eyes with Iruka, Naruto allowed his worry to reach his adoptive father, who smiled at him in a comforting way; Naruto was not fooled though –he could clearly see the wary look in the man's eyes.

Yes, Iruka had always been at his side in his wooing and dating Sakura, but he had also been the only one to oppose to the marriage, claiming they were still too young to think about such life–long promises.

Although, it was true, since Naruto had just graduated from university, and had started working three months before, to him his situation looked fine.

He was working as a foreign exchange analyst in a famous bank in Kyôto, the possibility to be promoted already lingering in the air; and for her part, Sakura was a make–up artist that had been already making her way through the world of models for the last two years.

It took Naruto hours of pestering his foster father to convince him to give them his blessing; of course he could have married Sakura without it, as she had suggested at first, but then he would not have done it without his approval.

Naruto could still remember the words Iruka had said to him–

"_As long as you are happy nothing matter, but you can't stop me from worrying about you."_

Those words held the greatest meaning for an orphan like Naruto was. That was why when he finally had Iruka's approval, hearing those words, he had felt like the happiest person in the world, because no matter what, he knew that there were people who cared for him enough to be worried enough to want him happy, even enough to marry him. And that was something no one could take away from him.

Naruto fidgeted a bit more, not liking the way the sweat was making his kimono sticky on him, not liking the sensation of the rough texture against his sensitive skin; but more than that he did not like the looks that were thrown his way, those eyes filled with pity and a vague condescending look people had when they thought they knew something he did not.

Those stares were suffocating him more than the heat and the heavy air.

From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Ino, Sakura's best friend. She looked at him smiling sadly before quickly turn her head, her blonde ponytail flying across her face could not hide the guilt tarnishing her usually lively pale blue eyes.

And then he had a sudden realization –something was going on.

Maybe it was Ino's pitiful stare, almost as if she felt guilty for something, or maybe it was the realization that Sakura was already three hours late.

It all clicked up –he knew that Sakura would never be late, especially _not_ for her own wedding. After all she had been the one to organize it all, the one to think every little detail, the one to control everything.

Furthermore, she despised lateness. Naruto had experience it first hand many, many times, as he had once been late for one of their dates.

Sakura had given him the cold shoulder for an entire week, screaming at him every time she met him somewhere, not allowing him to get near her, or kiss her…

-Of course they had never had sex either, she was like her parents were a traditionalist… she would never concede herself to a man outside marriage.-

He would never been late again after that one time. But he had the occasion to see Sakura's wrath falling on numerous of their friends for their lateness. She always said :

"_Punctuality is the politeness of Kings !" _

Naruto passed his tongue on his dry lips twice, not even noticing it when his fingers scratched his cheek.

This was not good. Not good at all.

He barely noticed some of the guests leave discreetly the temple, walking away with their heads lowered, already gossiping about him –about them.

It was then that he accepted the facts and finally stopped denying himself the harsh truth.

She would not come.

Sakura would not come to their wedding.

Naruto felt his heart clench painfully in his chest, almost as if a cold hand had grabbed his heart and was now squeezing it, it was a pain so deep it made his lungs twist and burn.

It should have been the best day of his life…

His unfocused eyes looked around again at the beautiful garden of the temple with the sun shining hotly above them no cloud covering the sky.

The flowers disposed around, daffodils because it was Sakura's favourite flower.

All the guests, dressed with formal traditional clothes, himself looking pathetic in his attire, sweat running from his forehead.

His family, Iruka, his close friends; Shikamaru, Gaara, Temari and even Kankurou, Chouji, Kiba, Tenten, Shino and even his boss Kakashi, who was a close family friend, was here with his best friend and lover Obito.

All gathered here for his marriage. Looking for his happiness, and now everyone was staring down in shame, not even meeting his gaze.

They were embarrassed but not of him. They were embarrassed _for_ him.

He looked at Ino again, his eyes dull. He didn't even have the strength to feel angry. The blonde young woman lifted her gaze to him and mouthed a _sorry_ at him. His heart skipped a beat, feeling heavier with every breath.

So she had known all along.

_Sakura would not come._

She would not come for real.

Slowly, Naruto closed his eyes tightly, tears pooling in them as he fought hard the urge to cry. With a fierce show of self–control he pushed the tears away, as he had promised he would never cry anymore in front of his precious people. It was not the time to break down.

He turned around; preparing to face the last guests that had remained out of pity and his friends, to inform then the ceremony was cancelled.

His eyes trailed over Miko, Sakura's mother, who bowed her head in apology, cheeks flushed with shame and fury. She was radiating the two feelings clearly for him to feel them.

Then, his eyes rested on Sakura's father, Higashi; the two had never really liked each other, but now, in such circumstances, Naruto saw in his eyes that for the first time ever, the man was not angry at him, but at his daughter for bringing shame to his family. It was a brief contact though, because then the man's eyes evaded Naruto's gaze, not able to hold on his stare anymore.

Naruto did not really care. It did not matter that he was going to make a fool of himself. No, it did not matter at all.

All he could think about was her face. The face of the person he had considered to be the woman of his life, the one he would have spent the rest of his life with.

And he could not chase away that nagging feeling telling him that she had betrayed him. She had deserted him in the most sacred day. She had left him the day they were to get married.

He halted in his turning around, unable to stop a single tear from rolling down his make-up covered cheek, disappearing in the folds of his haori, before finally turning to the crowd.

**End of the prologue.**

Montsuki kimono and Haori : part of the groom's attire Montsuki kimono are used for ceremonies and special occasions which bears the family crest on both the front and back of the kimono. The kimono is full length and is tucked into the hakama pants. A matching haori overcoat is then worn over the kimono to complete the attire.

Shiro-maku : The bride's kimono dress in Japan ; Shiro means white and maku stands for pure.

Geta : wooden-soled shoes

Torii : literally bird perch. It's the 'gate' that you generally found at the entrance of Shinto's temple.

I hope you enjoy this... Review, please.


	2. Drowning the pain

**Hello me again new chapter!! **

**Sorry for the wait... ;; **My Beta disappeared . I think he is in exams... and SOY too is in exams . So I'll have to break my promise to myself not to update this as long I am not two chapters ahead . ;;

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto I do not make money out of this and there is little chance I ever do. I do not own the drama Long Vacation. But I may advice you to take a look at that drama! XD

This story had been co-authored by **StarsOfYaoi** thanks for your help SOY!!

**Beta: ** **Cyber-Porygon **thanks for the hard work!

Thanks to all the reviewers: **insanechildfanfic****Raincurtain; Shinigami–Momo; RaitenKitsune; DarkDannyHot; PirateCaptainBo; Stalker-san; marco** (here is Itachi XD); **HidingDusk ** (got a lot of help from SOY from the descriptions Thanks )**; sakayora; kaja1234; yume no asuka; s2 shounen ai; Voltra the Lively; anonymous **(You did not left me any mail to answer you... . Just wanted to apologize for having forgotten to say that Long Vacation was not mine.); **holy goodness; Yuna's Aeon **(I hope you are not too disappointed by SOY's descision to stop Poison Lullaby and dilate the story...)**; malina** (When I think of it I find myself very cruel to Sakura . ;; But in the other hand she is the only character of Naruto who could do that.)**; The Copper Key; sendoh11; DarkRavie; channel; terrier; raziel** (there the rest! I hope you'll like it XD)**; x-EliteAssassin-x; creepy crab; SilverGenesis2; Itachi is cool; Auel Nader; catapult turtle.**

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**Chapter 01: Drowning the pain**

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Outside in the streets the city was still swarming with people and life, not minding the fact that the sun was quickly disappearing behind the grey building, and the darkness of the night was taking its place, stars slowly peering from the shadows of blue like small fireflies.

There was no moon outside, but the streets were lightened by the lampposts and by the various signs of the many shops. People were walking, chatting, and yelling uncaring of the approaching night, because at night it was like the city turned on a whole different life.

Students and employees were gone replaced by daring–clothed women, skin-heads, motorcycle driving on the roads making as much noise as they could, youngsters running down to meet friends in front of pubs and discos and karaoke, couples out for a date, and every now and then police patrols walking around.

A different kind of life from the programmed comforting routine of the day emerged. Now it was the moment when everyone could stop following the rules and relax a bit.

But not everyone was apt to having a night of fun; in one of the most luxurious and renowned sake–ya(1) of all Kyôto, Naruto was currently drowning his pains away in the most expensive booth of the bar, sitting on a crème coloured cushion with his back towards then door.

He quickly gulped down another small cup of sake, feeling it burn its way down his throat, as he fought hard the need to cough, small tears gathering in his eyes.

He didn't like drinking very much, but he liked going in sake–ya with his friends, enjoying the old fashioned rooms with wooden walls and bamboo sliding doors with flowers and trees painted all over them.

It was not like one of those cold-feeling western–styled bars that Sakura called 'in'… but Naruto had never shared her idea on what was 'in' and 'out'. He had never really cared.

Even if he was nothing more of an occasionally drinker, this time he felt he needed something that could dull his pain away, something that could make him forget, if only for a while, if only for a night, the pain throbbing in his heart.

Naruto felt the said organ clench and being squeezed inside him at the mere thought of his fiancée… no, his _**ex-**_fiancée. She was not his anymore. She would never smile at him and tell him how she loved him anymore.

He had lost her…Had she ever been his to begin with?

Shaking his head, as the painful squeezing continued, Naruto poured down the rest of his bottle in his cup and gulped it down once more, gritting his teeth at the feeling of the flames burning inside him.

Slamming the cup on the table's surface heavily, he allowed his head to slump down as well, banging it hard on the table but not caring at all; he didn't even feel the pain, as everything was unfocused and dulled around him.

He was wasted, completely wasted… he'd never been one to hold onto liquor that well, after all… this was part of why he didn't drink.

All he wanted… all his mind could think about, even in its dizziness, was that he would give everything if only to forget about that day, that horrible day.

It should have been the most beautiful day of his life, the day when he could show the world that even someone like him could have something good.

That even with his past, he could still be loved…

But maybe he had been wrong…

Laughing bitterly, Naruto bit his lip so hard it started to bleed. He would have never believed it if someone had told him he would try to forget the day of his marriage.

Failed marriage.

Maybe it was his destiny…

Hours before he would have laughed in everyone's faces, telling them he now had someone that would love him. Someone that would never look down on him as if he were trash. Someone that would always stay by his side.

He was wrong, so incredibly _wrong_.

Usually he was pretty optimistic, He had faced everything bad that had happened in his life with a smile, knowing he would get out of it one day; that one day, something good would happen to him.

He thought of it all the time, he continued in his way uncaring of the pain. He had strongly believed that the day when he would be happy had finally arrived. But he had been horribly wrong! And today he could not; he would not push the pain behind his mask anymore.

This was something more painful for him, because he had really loved Sakura. He had thought he had a future with her, even though they came from two different worlds… he had thought she would love him if not as much as he loved her, then at least enough for her to remain by his side.

And yet again, he was wrong.

The alcohol surely helped dulling the pain, but it also increased his depression.

His other hand was still clutching a piece of paper. It was a letter from Sakura. Partly the reason he was wasting himself away in a prestigious sake bar right now…

When he had gotten home, after four hours of waking under the sun, Naruto had opened the door of his and Sakura's flat only to see it incredibly empty.

All of her belongings were gone, making it looked like she had never lived there… taking away all the life of his pink haired beauty from there. She didn't even take with her the things they had together… like they didn't matter to her.

All the frames were still there. All the things they bought together were still there.

But Sakura obviously was not.

And on the table, there was a white envelope with his name neatly written on it in Sakura's curvy and delicate handwriting. It was seated on the low table in front of the television–set, staring back at him almost mockingly.

He had opened it with shaky hands, hoping against hope that Sakura would tell him she had some sort of explanation as to why she was not there… as to why she had left him.

He had read it so many times, that by now he knew the contents of the letter by heart.

'_Dear Naruto,_

_I don't really know how to start. I don't have much time so I'll have to be short… my train is about to leave._

_I can't face you, I just can't. Seeing you would surely break my resolve. I have found the love of my life, and it's not you. You may not understand, but I assure you that he's the most awesome person in the world. You'd surely like him too. He's a handsome and beautiful and gorgeous man I had worked with… he's perfect. I love him so much; I never felt such love before._

_He still doesn't think of me as his soul mate, but he soon will see that I am the perfect person for him. He's just my type, you know? And I am his. I am sure of this._

_I know you will be happy for me because I will finally find my happiness with him. Besides, you're still the dearest of my friends. I promise I will take good care of him and to be happy forever with him._

_Love, always…_

_Sakura'_

All of this after everything he had done for her. He had allowed her to control their marriage. They had not even done it yet, because she wanted to wait until they were married. And Sakura was also going to be his first…

He was pitiful. He was so ashamed of himself.

Naruto's fist tightened on the letter, crumpling it in his fingers, and was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of commotion coming from the outside of his booth; he turned slightly, narrowing his eyes as the door slid open and a person entered the small haven he had been alone into until now.

His blue eyes narrowed even more at the intruder.

He did not want company to drown himself in depression and pain.

He did not want to see someone stare at him with pity… he wanted no one!

"Whaz' ya doin'?" Naruto slurred, pouting.

The man's eyes turned towards him, one elegant eyebrow lifted up.

He was tall, taller than Naruto was, but there again Naruto had always been quite short for his age. Everything he appeared to be was opposite of what Naruto was –thin but muscular body, pale skin contrasting with ebony hair.

Naruto had tanned skin and had a firm but lithe built, as in the first years of high school he'd even looked a bit girlish… thanks god now he did not anymore.

The blond young man could not see the detail pretty well, because of the alcohol, but he frowned as he stared into the man's eyes… they were… they were…

"Are yah eyezz really aaaaall red?" Naruto waved his hand in the air in a circular motion.

The stranger's lips twitched up in a smirk, and Naruto's fleeting thought that he blamed on the sake was that the man looked… pretty handsome.

"Maybe..." he answered cryptically, his voice low and deep. "And are you always wearing formal kimono when you go to a sake–ya?"

Naruto's lips twitched up without his consent.

"Maybe…" he replied, grinning slightly.

After a second, the man decided to sit down on the opposite side of the blond, kneeling down until he was seated comfortably on the cushion. He didn't seem to care that his host apparently wanted to be left alone.

There was silence, as the man slowly smoothed the wrinkles out of his pants, and Naruto used this time to try and clear his mind a bit. He felt uncomfortable staring at the man, but at the same time he was mildly curious.

He didn't really care as to why that person was here with him now, but he was more curious about the way the man was dressed. He was wearing a dark western–styled outfit, completely black, with a white shirt underneath, black pants and even black shoes.

Naruto's mind giggled thinking he was probably wearing black socks, too.

All in all, with his raven hair, crimson–looking eyes -that to Naruto appeared like two flaming infernos of fire- and handsome features, he looked… almost unreal. Like one of those beautiful creatures that lived only in fairy tales.

Naruto fought the urge to laugh at the comparison. A fairy creature with a western–styled outfit and emotionless expression, that is.

The man on his part was busy staring at the many bottles of sake left empty around the blond haired young man, before settling back on the person himself, his eyes almost eating his frame.

Naruto's semi-closed eyes were still on the stranger in front of him, but soon enough turned towards the two remaining bottles of sake, picking himself one up and carefully pouring another cup.

Fingers clutching around the ceramic cup, Naruto threw his head back and lifted it to his lips, ready to continue gulping the hot liquid down; suddenly, as he was about to swallow the liquor, he became aware of a pair of eyes trailing down his frame.

Gulping down in uneasiness he quickly drank the sake, shifting slightly and blinking as he tried once more to make the haziness disappear from his mind. Looking back and forth from the man to the bottle of sake still on the table, Naruto pouted again, slanting his eyes.

Shaking his head, he regretted ever doing this when a dull pain exploded inside his brain. Biting his lip, he pushed the bottle towards the man.

"Wanna some?" he articulated slowly, feeling stupid with himself for his desire to not slur his words out.

……………………………

The door closed behind her back as she slowly walked inside, dropping one of her bags on the floor and the rest on the neon red sofa, before moving backwards until she was in front of the entrance again, and her eyes moving around his apartment with a satisfied nod.

Passing her tongue on her lips, she darted her eyes towards her watch, and let out a long breath.

It was over. Finally, it was over.

Another deep sigh escaped her lips while she sat waiting for something to come; guilt, depression, sadness.

None of them blossomed in her heart, and soon enough a smile was shining on her face.

Free.

She was free.

Free from her parents, free from all the ties that had chained her for so long.

There were no regrets, no guilt, of course there wouldn't be. Guilt and regret were for old women. She was still beautiful and young, with her life in front of her.

It felt like… she tried to reach for words to explain what she felt. Like… like a weight had been taken away from her shoulders.

Her smile widened, threatening to split her face in two.

Her apartment was perfect, and beautiful, just like her life would be from now on. She was going to live in Shinjuku, the centre of fashion life in Tokyo. It was the 'in' district of Tokyo, where rich and admired people lived.

It was quite large for her alone, but she would never lower herself so much as to live in a smaller apartment, what if her love had to come over? He would be disgusted. The flat she was in was large, hard to find in the neighbours, expensive too, yes, but absolutely a must for her, for what she wanted to do.

And she didn't really care about money, because she had her parents' golden credit card filled with money she could spend for clothes, restaurants and jewellery to impress the one she loved. Her parents were fools, who would do anything for their little blossom, she was certain of it.

Her flat was filled with the most expensive and 'in' furniture, which matched perfectly with the moquette of the sitting room, with the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, and with the parquet in the bedroom and guest room.

Her bedroom's armoire was filled with fashion clothes and tons of beautiful accessories, shoes and so on. She had spent a lot for them, but it was nothing compared to what she would get when she would finally catch her man's attention.

So what if there were many boxes around her apartment? She did not have time to unpack because of the shopping. She would do it tomorrow, or the day after.

Sakura had thrown away most of the things Naruto had bought her, because they were not good enough for a place like Shinjuku, where most malls were and where people had to look every day wonderfully beautiful without being repetitive.

She hadn't really cared. The dresses were boring, Naruto had no taste. He'd always been a boring person, after all. He thought he would be having her as a wife, what a joke! Poor guy, she had always told him she wanted to wait for their marriage for them to have sex.

Of course Sakura did not wait. Her first time was with someone whose name she did not even remember. She had met him at a party when she and Naruto had started going out. She did not see it as a betrayal because it was just a one–night stand.

She had had more than just that guy, but she had never told Naruto. After all, if she had allowed him to have sex with her, he would soon tell her parents. He was not able to keep a secret, and her parents were too strict and traditional to understand pre–marriage sex.

After all, who would keep themselves virgin until marriage? The possibility to have sex with more than one person was too good to give up to. After marriage, it would be one person and that person alone for all their life. Then again if she was to marry the love of her life, she would have to be ready to satisfy his needs and that a virgin could not do!

Sakura liked her casual boundary–free sex very much indeed.

Outside her window, the lights of the city were flashing inside her apartment, and it excited her. It was awesome, the way she would cut her ties with the past to start anew like erasing a blackboard. It was a whole new start, away from the boredom of her old life.

Who cared if she had been forced to drop Naruto the day of their marriage? Surely he would understand. He knew just how she hated to be constricted within four walls.

Ok, she had lost her 'perfect' marriage, the one she had been dreaming since she was young. But she had not really lost anything. Her parents paid for the celebration, the clothes, the guests, the food, the flowers and such.

And she had fun organizing it.

And what about Naruto?

Oh well, he would surely understand and be happy for her. After all, she had told him in the letter that he was not her soul mate.

He should be happy she had told him now instead of later.

She was lucky, extremely lucky and gifted. Now all she needed to do was to get her beloved one to realize the blatant truth and see that she was his soul mate and then, they would be together forever.

After all, he was perfect for her, and she was the only one for him.

Maybe they had never really spoken to each other, because he was the silent type, the one that to explain something did not even need words, but she was sure he had been just as mesmerized by her as she had been by him.

She had fantasised on him for hours straight, and she had seen him glare at her with his drop dead sexy eyes during the few days they had been working together. But she knew he was not really glaring at her, but admiring her beauty. Maybe the only thing that had stopped him to go to her was the small gold and diamonds ring on her left ring finger that Naruto had offered her. She still had it thought not on her ring finger because that was the only thing that Naruto had given her that was remotibly 'in'.

Now all she needed was to show him she was crazy for him too, crazy and totally free.

Adjusting her thin black leather necklace, on which was dangling a small pink heart, she turned around to the big mirror on the opposite wall and stared at herself with pleased eyes.

She was wearing a low–neck dress of a dark pink, with long sleeves from under her shoulders down to her hands. Shifting it ever so slightly so it could show her black bra with pink laces to match the colour of the dress, Sakura observed her new pair of high heels, of a dark pink with black fur.

With a light exasperated sigh she pulled a wandering strand of pink hair behind her ear, placing her hands on her hips and mimicking a kiss. She needed some more make up.

Moving so near to the mirror that her pointy nose was almost touching the smooth surface, she opened her mouth, creating a halo of steam, and carefully applied some neon pink glittering gloss on her thin lips.

Growling at the steam, she picked up a brush and covering it with glittering lipstick, she reapplied it over her lower lips, satisfied about her appearance.

After all, everything she did would mean nothing after today. It was her beloved's birthday, the day she had broken up with Naruto, for the sole reason she wanted to go to her only love and show him how they were made for each other.

The doorbell rang and she gripped her pink bag and purse, making sure she had enough money for the night; looking back to the table, she smirked and extended her hand, grabbing the golden trimmed card between her fingers and staring at it in satisfaction.

It was her passport for perfection, to be where she belonged.

Not with Naruto, of course. But with him… her loved one.

She had actually 'borrowed' it from her parents. But she felt like she had been betrayed by them, because they hid the fact they had known the person she loved from her.

Such childish act to hide her from her soul-mate. Tch.

On the card, in a clear and curly writing, what she read was,

'_Mister and Miss Uchiha request the pleasure of your company_

_To celebrate the 23rd birthday of their son,_

_**Uchiha Sasuke**_

_On Friday, July the 23rd, at 9 o'clock PM, Royal Park Hotel_

_2–1–1 Nihonbashi–Kakigara–cho,_

_Chuo–ku, Tokyo'._

……………………………

**Tsuzuku (TBC)**

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(1)Sake-ya: Japanese local where you only drink sake. It's divided in small private rooms with low tables and comfortable seats.

NB: The hotel really does exist but the descriptions that may be given of it in the later chapter(s) are purely fictional!

Thanks for reading. Do not forget to review now, please.


	3. Aptitudes

**Hello!**

Ok, every one this chapter is up in honor of dear Itachi's birthday!! XD

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own Naruto, and I do not own Long Vacation! (For those who don't know it is the title of one of the most popular Japanese Drama)

This Story is co-authored by** StarsOfYaoi!! **And Beta-ed By **Cyber-Porygon! **Thanks them too for their hard work!! XD

**Warning: **(couldn't think of any for the moment . )

Thanks to all the reviewers: **DarkRavie ****; Shinigami-momo; Jetede; Shaay **(She does not have any sense of reality and that's partially due to her parents being too nice to her and not letting her see how harsh the real world can be)**; creepy crab; Mad ****Mardigan; Voltra the Lively; YaoiRocks; SweetNeko **(She won't have Sasuke no worries about that)**; RickaZcurser; Auel Nader; SilverGenesis2; kaja1234; PirateCaptainBo; may.neuma; kim **(I hope this satisfy you... for the rest you will have to wait for my beta to come back)**; liankitty; hurleysuki; Mistress of Sadikus; lilcrazykid; metabot **(can't kill her, I need her for the rest)**; Akirakun17; aloukou101; Masked Lover.**

**Long Vacation**

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**Chapter 02: Aptitudes**

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Looking outside the window of the taxi, Sakura felt like her heart would explode. Everything was so shiny, so new, and so absolutely wonderful, that she couldn't keep her eyes steady. Comfortably lunging on the back seat, Sakura let her curious eyes eat as much as she could, knowing this was her new, fascinating life.

The city at this hour was awesome; she felt like she belonged there. This was her place!

"We're here" the taxi driver told her as he came to a stop in front of a huge hotel.

It looked expensive, very expensive, and imposing, something she had never even hoped to see this close, let alone enter. There were lampposts placed at each side of the giant entrance, the light gracefully sending dark shadows everywhere but on the door.

It looked like it was made of gold, and Sakura fought hard to restrain the excited squeal that threaten to escape her pink lips.

She was so excited that she barely noticed the doorkeeper of the hotel reach for the taxi's door's handle, opening the door for her; straightening up a bit, she used his hand to steady herself and walked down the red carpet to the door.

Ooh, she had dreamed of this so many times…

Yes... She had thought about her meeting with her soul mate so many times, and now it was coming true.

She would get to the hotel in one of her most beautiful dresses, making people stare at her with envy and awe, whispering to each other on how she was beautiful and seductive. Then she would hand over her invite to the doorkeeper, who would then let her enter with a bow and a smile, to which she would reply like a real miss, and ignore such low life person –as was expected from someone in her position.

And then, she would be announced in the main room after walking down a large row of stairs covered with a red carpet; a crowd of rich and 'in' people would turn in her direction, amazed at her beauty and finesse, commenting on how she was perfect, and on how she would be perfect for Uchiha–san…

Oh, yeah, Sakura dreamed it all to the tiniest detail.

And then, her love would appear in front of her, with the crowd parting around them, and he would look at her with his dark penetrating eyes, his luscious lips parting to tell her–

"This way, please".

She was abruptly pushed out of her daydreaming by the doorkeeper, who was quietly pulling her in the hotel. She was mildly annoyed by the interruption, but she knew that seeing it happen for real was better than dreaming it all her life.

As she left him and walked inside, she could feel the man's eyes on her swinging behind, and did not mind the attention at all.

Walking down the hall, her eyes moving around to take everything in as fast as possible without appearing a stupid villager, Sakura tried to focus her attention on the maître d'hôtel who was standing right in front of her on the other end of the hall, behind the lectern.

It was an old man, not the young hot–looking one she was expecting, but after all, she was not set to get a lowly maître anyway.

"Name, please" the man asked, looking almost bored.

She felt a bit peeved. He should have been drooling over her by now, not acting like a prick!

"Haruno, Sakura" she replied arrogantly, handing the gold trimmed invite to the man with what she assumed to be an elegant gesture.

The man dressed in red and white attire took the invite and carefully looked for the name in his list, eyes scanning each name.

Sakura smirked to herself, remembering just how easy it had been to sneak inside her father's study and take one of his personal signed cards to reply to the Uchiha's invite; it had been even easier to slip the invite away before her father saw it, as he had been too busy paying off his little blossom's bills to care for a small, crème envelope carved with the well known Uchiha crest.

"Have a nice staying and a good night, Haruno–san." The man finally said, handing back the card to her and effectively cutting her out of her daydreaming. Again.

Glancing at him with the most arrogant look she could muster -this was after all what servants expected from upper classes, she thought happily- she folded the card with her long fingers, long glittering pink nails scraping lightly its surface, before she finally tugged the precious item back in her pink handbag.

The doorkeepers, dressed in red and white like the one outside the hotel, quickly opened the double doors in front of her, all the while glancing at the pink haired young woman as she moved in; Sakura smirked inwardly, pleased for the attention.

Stepping inside the ballroom, she felt a bit disappointed there was no stairs for her to descend -and also show her legs and grace a bit- but the emotion quickly vanished as she looked around; yes, everything was like she had always dreamed it would be.

She felt like the princess finally going to meet with her prince.

The room was enormous, filled with lights, the walls covered with warm tones of red and brown; at the sides there were lines of seats and some tables with food and drinks, served by waiters in black and white outfits and nice maids dressed in white and black.

Many were already late, guests that had yet to come and some that had arrived only moments before, but Sakura herself had decided to be 'fashionably' late; she had hard time restraining herself from jumping around in excitement.

As she entered she could feel all their eyes on her frame, devouring it –some glances were envious, some captivated, some even lustful.

Just like she planned since the beginning,

Her lips turned upwards in a barely contained smirk that she quickly melted into a smile; she was going to be that princess of her dreams, and just like them, she would get her prince.

She stepped in gracefully. This was the world she was born to belong to; this was the world her parents had refused to show her until that moment, the world Naruto would have deprived her forever.

As she felt her levelled smile turn into a frown, she shook her head, mentally slapping herself; this was not the time to be thinking of that Chite (1).

The only reason she had been going out with him to begin with was because it did not bode well with her stuck–up parents, gritting their nerves. Besides, it was cool to have a boyfriend in high–school; her friends envied her so much… and that Chite was better than many others that had tried to date her…

Like that bandaged up guy, aah, whom had been a scary one.

No matter how nice and handsome and cute the blue–eyed blond could be, he would forever be a Gaijin (2)'s bastard. And Sakura would never lower herself so much as to marry scum like him.

Sakura's eyes lit up considerably as a man slowly approached her. Though he would never be near as handsome as the Uchiha heir she loved, he was not bad to the eyes. He was tall, with deep brown eyes and shoulder–length brown hair, tied up in a messy low ponytail.

But what really caught Sakura's attention was not his built frame, that was really trite, but his five thousand yen grey Armani's tuxedo.

"Hello dear, are you free?" the young man asked flirtatiously.

Sakura mentally rolled her eyes. Of course she was alone, duh. But on the outside she simply smiled at him, nodding gracefully. It would not be bad to use this guy for a while. At least he was kind of pleasant, even though he was anything but special.

Oh well, Sasuke was special enough to last her a life-time.

"May I know the name of such breathtaking beauty?" he asked in a sweet–coated voice that sent shudders down Sakura's back.

Sakura thought about it, hesitating for a split second. What should she do? Flirt back to him or play hard to get?

"Rules of politeness would have you to present yourself first, mister." she answered slyly with a coy smirk.

He laughed softly, his voice warm and pleasant. "Ibiki, Idate".

She nodded. She would forget his name in a while anyway.

"Haruno, Sakura." She replied.

"Haruno, Sakura…" he rolled the name on his lips and slowly took her hand in his own, bowing slightly at her. "It's a real pleasure to meet you".

Sakura faked a blush; it was not hard, she had much experience in fooling around Naruto with fake embarrassment.

"Would you mind…?" Idate -yeah, that was his name- presented her his arm.

……………………………

Miko watched anxiously as her husband paced up in front of her, his eyes fixed on a spot at his feet in front of him.

None of them had spoken since early in the day, but the tension could be felt on her shoulders like an invisible weight.

They had a long and tough day.

When the groom, the blond young man neither of them had liked, had in the end announced the marriage was to be cancelled, since the bride did not appear to the ceremony, she had felt her heart stop in her chest.

No, Sakura… her delicate, adorable daughter, would have never done such a horrible, horrible thing.

She was lovable, nice, always cheerful, and smiling, she would never be able to do something like this, not at all.

Her life had been perfect, anything she wanted, she would get; Sakura had the most wonderful childhood a girl could have, and Miko had given her everything she could want, everything her little heart desired.

Maybe she had coddled her daughter a bit, even spoiled her, but… she was her only child! Besides, Miko's childhood had not been as good as Sakura's, so she wanted her daughter to be happy.

Her husband had never shared this idea of spoiling their only child, quite often scolding her for her doings, but she had always brushed it off.

After all, she had always thought Higashi to be too strict for his own good, and only now she was seeing her mistake.

As a mother, she had never been able to see the faults of her own daughter, if this was an excuse. But now Miko could not turn her head away anymore. Sakura could not see what was proper and what was not.

She had everything she wanted and now, she thought she could do at her bidding with anything she could see, especially if it was about money. Miko berated herself now, because she had never taught Sakura the importance of money, and how to use it.

If her bills were an indication to this, she was used to get whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to.

How could she have been this blind not to see her mistakes in growing her child? Miko was devastated now, but she knew she could not blame anyone but herself.

"How could she? _How could she?!_**How could she?!**" Higashi roared, finally breaking the tense silence.

Miko's heart jumped from her chest to her throat as she stared with wide eyes at her husband; not once in their life together, had she seen him this distraught, not once had she heard him yell.

Not even when Sakura broke his precious Edo's era vase that he had inherited from his deceased father, a precious artefact that had been passed from generation to generation.

Not even when she had come home drunk with a man on her toes, older than her by at least ten years.

Not even when Sakura had announced them she had decided to not pursue any kind of scholastic study, and that she would become a make–up artist instead.

Not even when she had told them she was going to marry Naruto, a young man that had no family heritage, and that was not by their standards, suited for her.

But she had known her husband for years. She came to know every single trait of him, and she knew one thing about him: there were two things he could not accept: disrespect towards his family and his traditions, and wasting money.

Sakura had done both.

Higashi had always worked hard to get everything he owned; he came from an ancient and well–known clan, which had been reduced to poverty. And the only thing Higashi had owned when he had married her, had been that vase. Family heirloom he loved dearly.

Life had not been easy when they were young, they had to fight to survive, and there had been days when they had nothing to eat… but they had been strong enough to pass all of this and thanks to her husband, their life had quickly turned to the better.

He had strived hard with his work, becoming a successful builder, which was now at the head of a nationwide construction business.

They were rich now, but neither Miko nor Higashi had forgotten their pain, the hunger, the dread of their first years together.

Miko did not want Sakura to feel this pain, but…

"I will disown her!" her husband's enraged cry shook her out from her thoughts.

"WH… what?" she sputtered, unable to understand what was happening now.

"I will disown her!" he repeated, his face showing grave determination. "She will learn, and she will learn the hard way!"

"You can't!" Miko jumped forwards, grabbing her husband's arm. "She's our only child!"

"I can, and I will" he replied firmly. His eyes were flickering with pain but his tone was firm.

"Anata (3), please, reconsider… she must have been afraid… try to understand her sometimes!" Miko begged, her green eyes filling with tears. "She will surely come back!"

Higashi was not a monster. He loved his daughter deeply, even though he was sure his wife had coddled her too much. And seeing Miko, her lovely Miko, about to cry in front of him made his heart break.

"I will… I will give her one week" he tried to sound angry, but he moved forwards and hugged his wife, looking down at her. "Seven days. If she is not back by the seventh day, then… I won't have a daughter anymore".

……………………………

"Where were you, young man?" Fugaku's tone was dark, his voice echoing in his ears.

Sasuke looked up to glare at his father.

"None of your business" he replied with the same tone, eyes flashing with rage.

"Do not speak in such a way to your father, Sasuke!" Mikoto scolded her son, shocked at his behaviour.

The raven haired young man turned towards his mother, his eyes warming up at her sight.

"Sorry, mother" he apologized with a nod.

He was not here for his father. For all he cared, the old man could burn in the deepest pit of hell and never come back ever again, but… his mother was a different matter altogether. She had always been there for him no matter what, not expecting anything from him, but to simply be himself.

For that he had always been grateful.

"The guests are waiting for you!" his father growled.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he straightened up, lifting his head.

"Here we go," he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath and stepping inside the ballroom.

He hated places like this. He loathed them with all his heart.

Looking around, all he could see was a bunch of arrogant, old, rich, spoiled, obnoxious fools, and they were looking at him with lust, fake respect or hunger.

He could not take this. He was feeling his bile rising already, and he had hard time fighting the urge to turn around and leave.

He looked at his right, where his parents had appeared to 'support' him in his appearance; his father had the usual look of satisfaction on him, holding his mother's arm as the woman stepped with him, falling into her usual role of the perfect wife, her empty smile stretched on her lips.

He hated to see his mother reduced to a mindless puppet in his father's control, but he could do nothing. His father owned them all.

He barely noticed a waiter walking up to him with a small trail, offering it to him; dark eyes stared at the tall crystalline champagne glass half filled with a semi–sparkling golden wine before picking it up.

Alcohol was the only thing that kept Sasuke up when forced to go at certain parties.

There was a clinging sound as Fugaku attracted everyone's attention by dinging a small crystal stick against his glass of wine. Sasuke inwardly growled and turned as well.

"First of all, let me thank every single one of you for coming today at my son's twenty–third birthday," Fugaku looked like the perfect business man, the perfect father, but Sasuke knew better.

Their eyes met for a second, and Fugaku glared at his son a bit before returning his attention to the crowd of mindless people.

"This is a very special day for my Sasuke and I wish for him a wonderful birthday!" the smile on his face was painfully fake and empty. "Sasuke, happy birthday!"

As he said this he lifted his glass of wine, and like perfectly orchestrated puppets, all the guests did the same, cheering and drinking for him.

Sasuke lifted the glass to his lips and gulped it down in one go –he needed a drink. And he seriously needed more.

Scanning the giant room, Sasuke tried to find his 'friends'; not that he had any real friend, but he had some people he could stand to be with, even though he had no special bond with any of them.

There was Tenten, the son of a famous Blacksmith -such old profession was still coveted even in such modern times-, who was happily chatting with Idate -who was into sportive clothes business-, as Neji, heir of the Hyūga clan, was standing against a pillar, growling and narrowing his pale eyes every time Idate's hand brushed against TenTen's.

Right at Neji's side there was Lee, who was son of a famous athlete and an athlete himself, who was apparently having a one–sided conversation with a pink haired woman.

Sasuke felt his stomach twist inside him at the sight of the woman. She was simply too… too… _pink_.

Sasuke hated pink.

And this young woman was dressed entirely with pink colour, and even her hair was pink! Was she obsessed by that colour?

The young Uchiha sighed and shook his head. He did not like people like this girl. They tended to be very… obsessive, and by the looks of it, if she was here she would probably start to obsess on him as well.

And he did not want it, not at all.

It would probably be too dangerous to approach his friends now, with the pink obsessed freak around; he had enough crazy fan–girls around as it was.

Discreetly turning around, Sasuke was about to make his way out and wait a bit, but he was not counting Lee's loudness and sharp senses.

"Hey, Sasuke!" he yelled, waving his hands above his head, looking very much like an albatross preparing to fly away.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

_'Thanks, Lee!'_ He thought, but he could not get angry at the young man, after all.

No one could get angry with Lee, not even Sasuke himself.

He slowly made his way towards the bowl–cut haired young man and prepared himself from the hug he was going to receive. He was not deluded as he was suddenly squeezed in Lee's embrace.

Wiggling out of it after a second, he stood up again and focused on Lee's words.

"Happy birthday, birthday boy, I hope the flame of youth will burn brightly in you this year as well!" Lee exclaimed in rapture. His eyes brightened up suddenly and turned towards the pink haired freak. "By the way, this wonderful flower at my side, the beautiful young lady is Haruno, Sakura!"

Sasuke had the horrible idea to look at the girl that moment, and was blinded by the pinkness of her. Most of all, he was blinded by the look of utter adoration she -Sakura, that was her name- was reserving him.

Oh, shit!

This was going to be a very long, long night.

……………………………

He didn't know what he was doing.

Certainly not why he was doing it.

So then again, what was he doing?

Looking down at the person that was now rubbing his cheek against his left shoulder, he was suddenly reminded of the cat he had once met at an acquaintance's house.

Maybe not really a cat though. The young man's face resembled more a fox's than a cat's. But there again, he had to stop thinking this way. It was not normal.

Eyes still fixed on the young face, he could not stop a smirk from making its way on his lips; he had to admit it, this young man was truly beautiful.

Short blond hair was plastered on his sweaty and flushed face, his blue eyes hazy and half–closed, and his luscious kimono open to show the tan skin of his built chest. He vaguely recognized that type of kimono, but the reasons as to why that beauty was wasting himself away in a sake–ya were not as clear.

He felt the blonde's head lift a bit, and watched in fascination as the young man tried unsteadily to step up to the apartment building that was a few feet away from them.

Itachi wondered again why he was here, but the answer came suddenly as a pair of blue eyes flickered open and stared at him, as the blond stumbled pivoting on his feet, and attached both of his arms around Itachi's shoulders.

Dark crimson eyes stared into hazy ocean ones, and Itachi sighed, allowing the other to regain some appearance of balance against his frame.

Their faces were inches apart, he could feel the younger male's alcohol filled breath fawning over his face, but it was not as disgusting as it may have been…

Blue eyes closed again and Itachi wished for them to open again. For some reason, he could not look away.

They stood like this for a few seconds, more, until those eyes opened again, so Itachi could look into them for a bit more. He felt stupid and a bit… out of it, but he did not really care, as long as he could stare at the younger guy currently in his arms.

He was pushed out of his reverie by a quiet giggling coming from somewhere at his left; diverting his attention from the delicious sight he realized the giggling came from a couple of school–girls who were looking at them, squealing and blushing and holding each other's hands in delight.

A bit disturbed by the sight, he turned towards the blond again.

"I'll take you home" he whispered in the other's ear with a low, deep voice.

Naruto looked up at Itachi, eyes suddenly filled with tears. Naruto could not take a hold on his emotions anymore, and had been reminded of the reason he had been drinking himself to oblivion.

"I… no… home… she… gone" that was all Itachi was able to understand from the blonde's mutters and chocked back sobs.

Itachi looked down at him again, wondering why he felt a sudden sharp ache in his chest every time he met those wonderful eyes. He was not sure he liked the sensation, but at the same time he could not make himself stop looking at those endless seas.

He had never felt such thing before in his life, ever.

Itachi had never allowed himself to feel emotions when he had been younger or growing up with a family like his would have been hell –even though it had been hell all the same.

But this denying his emotions had caused him to stop feeling them altogether as years passed through, and in the end, he had almost forgotten what it meant to _feel_.

He had not been able to feel anything, not even when the person he had called his best friend had died in front of him, not even blinking when the doctor had told him he could not be saved.

There had not been tears in his eyes, as everyone around him, his family, his parents, were mourning for Shisui's death.

As far as he was concerned, he could not feel.

Not when his father had started to demand him everything, showing him a pre–ordered life they were expecting him to follow.

Not when he had announced to his whole clan that he would not take over the family business, leaving that task to his younger brother, and instead he would become a lawyer and create his own study with some of his college-mates.

His father had been furious. He had turned red and then purple, screaming so loudly that probably all the neighbours had listened as he had called his son a traitor, a good–for–nothing, a useless and senseless bastard that would soon rethink his options.

His mother had been crying, sobbing and begging and pleading her husband to stop and calm down, and not even her tears had moved something in Itachi's chest.

As for his little brother, the one he had abandoned to his family in exchange for a ticket towards freedom, he had not seen him in over five years, ever since he left the main house without as much as a glance back.

Well, until his little brother had appeared out of thin air, returning in his life and demanding to have a meeting with him; Itachi had agreed, wondering if it would trick something in his heart… longing, sadness, melancholy... maybe even guilt.

He had been proven wrong.

There was still dull emptiness and a steady annoyance towards his brother, who had been screaming at him, yelling and asking _why_ he was so perfect, so better than him.

Itachi had never cared. He could not care. Nothing had ever been hard for him, everything being handed to him on a silver plate.

Some people would think it was heaven, but not him… to him, nothing had a taste anymore. Empty, savour–less and grey… his life had no meaning in his perfection. There was no excitement, no feeling at all.

Not even his work was giving him satisfaction… not even the fact that he had quickly become one of the most renown lawyers in Kyôtô.

Until that night,

The night when, after listening to his yelling brother for hours, he had passed in front of this booth in the sake–ya, and acting on pure instinct, something he had never done before, he had pushed the door open and entered.

And there he had met this guy, listened to his sobs, not really gathering much information but enough to understand, and he had suddenly _felt_ something.

And now he was stumbling in front of an orange apartment door, holding the blond guy in his arms as he fiddled with the keys.

The neighbourhood seemed calm, the apartment at the top level. For a moment, standing there in the darkness, he wondered. Wondered about many things that he should not have been wondering, like how this young boy had managed to get this apartment, or what would happen to him now, and many other things, until–

Until he heard a light moan coming from the man who was leaning against his shoulder.

Itachi's mind then went blank.

……………………………

Tsuzuku (TBC)

……………………………

(1) Chite: less than polite racist word to address foreign people trying to pass for Japanese, and half–bloods.

(2) Gaijin: Foreigner (not very polite way to say it).

(3) Anata: My dear (from a wife to her husband) It can also means 'You'.

NB: The hotel's descriptions are purely fictional! The reality may differ or may be the same, I do not know nor do I care!

Thanks for reading. Do not forget to review now, please.


	4. Chapter 3

Hello !!

**Disclaimer : **I do not own nor will I ever own Naruto! I'm not good enough at drawing to do so!! And the drama Long Vacation is still not my property... Apart from the OST CD...

This story is still co-authored by **StarsOfYaoi**! And still Beta-ed by **Cyber-Porygon**! You better thanks them for their hard work!!!

Sorry for not answering any reviews... I'm totally out of it for the moment and I was uncomfortable with answering the reviews after a month of total silent!! ;;

Thanks to all the reviewers: **Ore no Naruto; YaoiRocks; Auel Nader; SilverGenesis2; hurleysuki; Kuroy; ssister; aloukou101; quaero lumen; PirateCaptainBo and Ski; DarkRavie; Mad Mardigan; Kags21; Dark Mistress 2; RoosterEmpress; Harteramo; Evil Ball of Fluff; Raziel; creepy crab; DarkFaith; Billie; StupefiedNarutard; kim; eLKY; Lita21; Virtual-Vertigo; Aaye; NARU.UKE.4LYF**.

Hmmm I would also thanks every one who put me or this story on alert!! And thanks to all the readers!!! XD It's really cool to see that people are interested by my work! Thanks!

**Long Vacation**

**……………………………****  
**

**Chapter 03:**

**……………………………****  
**

Naruto's eyes fluttered opened as he felt the sun hit harshly his closed eyelids.

"Hn…" he grumbled in distaste.

He had every intention to move and close the damn curtains, but the simple movement of opening his eyes caused a sharp pain to explode inside his head.

Groaning and doubling over, he curled a bit more inside his blankets.

Gods, his head hurt _so_ damn much! What the hell happen?

Everything was fuzzy and he could not remember what happened last night as his brain was not working properly at this hour, whatever hour it was.

After a second of searing stabs of pain, Naruto decided he did not really care at the moment and turned around in his bed, pulling the sheets over his shoulders in a vain attempt to go back to sleep.

"Wake up…" A voice sneaked through Naruto's consciousness, trying to shake him from sleep and softly commanding him to awareness.

At first both the voice and the tone registered in Naruto's mind as unknown and his mind sleepily supposed it was Sakura's.

"Don't want to…," he muttered pouting and twisting, pulling on his sheets a bit more and covering up his head. "Leave me alone Sakura…"

He really did not want to wake up. There was something nagging in the back of his mind that was insistently telling him it was better off sleeping and he was bent on following its advice; his head after all hurt so freaking much…

He vaguely felt a presence move near him, and a second later a large hand pressed against his shoulder, shaking him.

"Wake up…" the dark silky voice whispered softly again near his ear, the hot air grazing his ear making Naruto shivered.

Naruto closed tighter his eyes for a second, wondering when had Sakura's voice turned this… manly, only to suddenly realize that something was amiss –he did not know this voice!

Snapping his eyes open wide, he thrashed away his blanket, gaze fixing on the person standing next to his bed wearing only a pair of silky black Calvin Klein boxers.

It took a second to Naruto's semi–comatose brain to register what he was seeing, and in that second his eyes moved from a mane of silky, ebony hair to a pair of crimson dark eyes, only to roll down on a perfect modeled chest and white athletic legs.

A very nice view indeed, part of him readily agreed.

The man was tall, dark, and…

And then the memories came crashing down on him.

The cancelled marriage, the disappointment and the bitter feelings, the letter Sakura left him, the Sake-ya he had been drowning his pain into, and then this man barging into his booth listening to his drunken complains.

Then everything was fuzzy… for how much he could try no memory of 'afterwards' appeared in his mind.

How had this man ended up in his apartment? How had he himself managed to climb up the stairs of the five stories appartment building to his flat when he clearly remembered he had not even been able to stand the previous day?

And the worst thought of them all… did _this man_ help him go back home?

Yes, probably that guy had helped him go back home, for how strange that could seem –Naruto did not trust strangers so much unless in a drunken stupor and he was not one to get drunk often. Besides, he was not sure people normally decided to be nice and help a stranger go back home.

Had it been a thief, he would have stolen everything and disappeared without caring about him, but…

But then _why_ was he still here? 'If he was not a thief, then what?'

Naruto felt a stab of panic as he tried to overcome his horrible headache -aka hangover- and think clearly.

He could have simply dropped him in the apartment and then go away. What had happened instead? Was there a reason the raven haired man was still in there, in boxers none the less?

Naruto's wave of panic doubled. What had happened with the man? Had he… _done something_ with him last night?!

Because for someone he had never seen before and hardly knew now to stay in his apartment all night along, something surely must have happened…

But… but he was still a… _virgin_ right?!

It must have been the strangest thing ever to wonder at this moment, but the fact was, he did not want to lose his virginity like that. No, not at all! He was one of those people who wanted their first time to be with someone they loved, not with a random stranger met in a bar.

Gods, this sounded even more disgusting like this. Like a whore, or something… or a desperate in need of some warmth…

Even though the said stranger was indeed quite handsome.

Naruto's cheeks turned lightly red at the thought and he could not stop himself from looking up at the black beauty. He had never though himself as someone who could get attracted to the same sex, but probably his mind had not caught up on him yet.

Looking up he realized the man was looking at him as well. Blinking, he then noticed he was not really looking at his face at all… he was looking at his lower part.

Following the gaze of those red eyes, Naruto stared down at his own body and realized he was only sporting the traditional loincloth _thong_ that was traditionally put underneath the ritual kimono.

His blush then intensified tenfold as he gripped the sheets and pulled them up again, draping them around his nearly naked body. He had been sleeping like this?!

And who did undress him? That man, or himself?

The wave of panic returned twice as strong as Naruto had the beginning symptoms of hyperventilation. A single thought was running in circles inside his throbbing mind –_'what have we done yesterday night?_'

Had they…

Had he… lost his…

He did not even know the man's name, damn it!

His hands lightly shaking on his laps, so much he had to close them into fists to not show his fear and confusion, Naruto found himself looking up again to meet those red eyes, uncertainty flashing inside his own orbs at the thought of what could have happened.

"W–Who are you?" Naruto voiced his thoughts, his voice trembling.

Red eyes regarded him for a moment, "Itachi. Your new roommate." The black haired beauty answered with a soft voice.

All brain processes for Naruto shut down in this moment.

'_What?'_

After two useless attempts to speak, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Naruto gulped down on his dry mouth. "M–my…" Naruto began.

"Roommate," Itachi finished for him, his tone still the same.

Naruto gaped like a fish as his brain failed to understand the situation.

"B–but I don't have a roommate!" He intelligently replied. "I don't need a roommate… I'm… I… I never lived with anyone before… I…" Naruto began to search for words, his blue eyes darting everywhere around in the room, not daring to look at the man again, frantically trying to grasp the meaning of the situation.

"I will pay my part of the fee." Itachi cut Naruto's ramblings, his eyes still fixed on the young blond.

Naruto deflated suddenly. He renounced completely, he could not understand. At least, not with his headache pounding in his ears, not in this situation, not with…

And a part of his mind, some strangely reasonable part that was unreasonable on itself -as this was the last thing he should be thinking about- whispered that he indeed would need a roommate.

The apartment had been the marriage's gift from Miko and Higashi, but they had bought it for the married couple to have a place to call their own and now that _she_ left him... Naruto could not very well claim it for himself! He would have to find an arrangement with Haruno-san -he already had planned for paying the Haruno back for this kingly gift anyway- but he knew that financially speaking he could not afford the flat's fee he had calculated now that _she_ was gone.

Naruto lowered his head in defeat, a sigh escaping his lips. He had no choice, had he?

"But there are a few rules to follow!" Naruto said sternly completely forgetting his earlier thoughts and trying to regain at least partially control over the situation.

The blond shook his head and gripped the nearest piece of clothing he could find –a pair of tight black pants that were folded on the nearby chair. He put them on fighting with the fabric so they would stay up.

'At least he could have the decency to turn around!' Naruto thought angrily as his right foot got stuck inside the pants' leg, glaring at everything but the raven haired man still standing there, observing each and every one of his moves.

Finally managing to put his pants on, Naruto stood up straight, walking over to Itachi and glaring at him defiantly.

"First rule: my room is off–limits" Naruto stated, seizing Itachi by his shoulders and turning him around to the door, all the while pushing him out of the room.

Itachi sternly looked back from above his shoulder at Naruto and then at the door, lifting an elegant eyebrow, then his frown disappeared, a small smirk forming instead on his faintly pink lips.

The tall man leaned forwards a little, moving his mouth near Naruto's neck.

"You were not saying that yesterday night, you know," he whispered, breathing on the blonde's skin.

Naruto shivered as the hot air caressed his face, blushing crimson red, and grabbing the handle he violently slammed the door close on Itachi's face.

Sliding down with his back against the closed door, he paused for a moment, heart thumping wildly in his chest, fighting off a sudden attack of nausea –his head hurt like hell.

As he tried to form a coherent thought, blocking all the images of what the dark haired man could be doing on the other side of the door, Naruto groaned in pain, holding his head in his hands as he curled up on the floor.

_What had he done last night?_

……………………………

Standing in front of the now closed room, smirk still present on his lips, Itachi shook slightly his head, staring at door in amusement.

Teasing the blond was entertaining, to say the least. Watching the deep blue eyes darken a bit in anger, whilst his cheeks tinged with a light shade of red… Itachi felt vaguely accomplished in doing that.

It might have been nothing like his usual attitude and behavior, but he did not mind it at all, especially if he could watch the blonde's reactions every time, Satisfying.

His smirk fading a bit, Itachi turned away from the closed door and looked around at the apartment he was going to live in from then on; at first sight it looked quite common. There was a small entrance door -painted orange both on the inside and outside- with a short corridor leading to the central room, which was fairly large.

As usual in Japanese houses, next to the entrance there was a small cupboard to keep shoes in; Itachi and Naruto's shoes were there next to the door as well, in the place Itachi had placed them when entering the apartment.

The sitting room's walls were of a warm creamy color, a light brown–ish tinge, and there were some paintings here and there; a small table was right in the middle, surrounded by two armchairs and a small sofa, all of a red–orangey tone, with cushions of the same shade.

There was a TV in front of the sofa and the armchairs, placed against the wall and next to a couple of bookshelves. There was a stereo and a DVD player as well as a small shelf filled with a few DVDs.

The windows were in a fairly good position, on the other side of the sitting room, so light could come in without being a bother, and would not overheat the apartment in summer days with a little bit of help from the a/c sitting in a hidden corner. Itachi nodded to himself, since speaking about himself, he did not like heat that much –part of the reason as to why he had a pale complexion.

The door that probably led to the bathroom was on the left, and on the other side of the sitting room there were two other doors, both facing the entrance.

It was nothing extraordinary in Itachi's opinion, but he was actually biased, since he had always lived in expensive suites. Besides, for someone who had just graduated from university -if he could believe what the blond had told him whilst stuttering his whole life out due to his drunken state-, it was actually strange to own such a nice place.

Itachi shrugged, he would have all the time in the world to get to know the younger man.

Stepping away from Naruto's own room, Itachi moved to take a look to the bathroom, which was small but had a sink, a shower, a bathtub and two cupboards, and also a smaller window; there were one white clean towels and a pink one on a ledge, and soap next to the sink.

Everything looked really clean, with white and blue tilled walls and dark blue tilled on the floor.

Closing the bathroom door Itachi walked over to the kitchen, looking around and recognizing the style as a small American type of kitchen; the sink was on the farthest wall on the right, next to another window.

There was a large cabinet in a corner, and on the left there was an electric four hot–plates oven topped by a hood. Everything looked fairly new, as did the fridge, that was on the other corner next to a second cupboard and was a combo of fridge and freezer.

There were some fruit–shaped magnets on the fridge, probably used to hang small notes and such. Itachi found this though amusing. He could just picture the blond forgetting things and someone -the person he had been crying over last night- having to put notes on there so he would remember.

The small smile vanished from the raven haired man's lips at the thought of the person who had been the cause of the blonde's depression. Who could be this stupid to dump someone like the blond without a warning?

But there again, he had to thank that person or something, since he had now a place where to live.

Shrugging, Itachi continued his careful inspection of the apartment.

Facing the oven there was a crème–painted wooden counter, in front of which there were three black stools with their back turned to the lounge.

On the farther left corner of the counter there was a potted green plant, whist on the centre there was a cute bouquet of fresh flowers, some of which were already wilting a bit; next to the plant there was a black wire cup filled with fresh–looking oranges, whose smell reached out towards Itachi.

There were various glasses suspended above the counter, with plates and cups.

"Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you who you are," Itachi muttered amusedly under his breath as he moved to the fridge, opening it.

To his surprise it was rather empty, apart some vegetables in the left lower corner –which looked like they would stay there until they grew rotten– and a few bottles of milk and water; the fridge was probably used only as storage for cool beverages.

Closing it he proceeded to open all the cabinets and drawers of the kitchen, wondering what he would find there.

It was then he came to a single conclusion about his new roommate –ramen freak.

Everywhere he could look, there were cups and cups of dried instant noodles, mostly miso but also of other various tastes. Must be why there was a water–heater on the oven.

Itachi's upper lip twitched a bit before he moved to close all the cupboards again, wondering how the blond had managed such fit shape if he only ate such inconsistent and unhealthy food all the time.

Sighing he returned to the sitting room where his clothes were -he had been walking around the apartment only in his silk boxers and he did not even realize it until now- and took off his cell phone from the pants' pocket, quickly dialing a number.

Finally he heard the familiar click on the other side, and without waiting for a reply he started to speak, "Minako–san, I want you to go to my hotel room and pick up all my belongings" he paused for a split second, "and take them all to the address I will tell you now".

His brows furrowed briefly as he listened to the shrill voice answering on the other end of the line, before his fingers tightened on the phone.

"No".

Without further ado, Itachi shut the call off immediately.

"I'll need a new secretary" he muttered to himself, tapping his chin with a finger. "Maybe this time I'll go for a man, for a change…"

……………………………

Iruka was busy pacing inside his small apartment, not even looking up from the floor as he moved erratically from one room to the other, unable to calm down.

It was his fault, he knew it.

This mess was all his fault! He should have convinced Naruto to say no, but… he had never been able to resist the blond, he could not deny him anything.

And now, due to his complete lack of willpower, his Naruto, the person he regarded as a son, was suffering.

Iruka stopped pacing in front of his small wooden gueridon, where there was a framed photo of Naruto and Sakura, both smiling at the camera. It had been a sunny day and the two had decided to go to a park and have a picnic, and had taken a lot of photos, so when Iruka had asked one, Naruto had happily given him this one, where Sakura and he were together.

At the time it had looked perfect, a happy couple smiling at the photographer, their hands intertwined and eyes sparkling, but now… looking intently at the display, Iruka could not see anything but the flaws on Sakura's fake smile.

He had forced himself to accept her, he had forced himself to believe she was the right one for his Naruto, but he had never managed to fool himself enough to stop looking at her with suspicion; she had been sly, but not enough for Iruka to not notice. She was no good for Naruto.

The pink haired young woman was nothing but a spoiled child who had no limits, and Naruto would have never been able to impose himself enough to set some to her.

Iruka sadly shook his head. He was not accusing her, nor judging. This was simply the truth, how she grew up and her own mind set. She was lost, and could not understand how hard life was, and that she had to start learning and fighting on her own, instead of always relying on her father's bank account.

Sakura needed someone that could make her have a reality check, someone that could force her to see where her limits were, of this Iruka was sure. He believed there would be someone one day able to make Sakura finally open her eyes…

But this person was not Naruto, and had never been him.

He had always loved her too much, worshipping everything about her so much he had been blinded to her faults, when everyone around them could easily see them.

In a sense, if Iruka had to be truthful with himself, he was somewhat glad Sakura did not show up for the ceremony.

Maybe Naruto would be hurt, and maybe it would take a lot for his true smile to finally come back, but Iruka knew this was better than condemning him to a life of pain and lies, until Sakura would run away again when realizing Naruto would not give her what she wanted.

It would have been worse then.

Biting his lip, Iruka felt the bitter taste of guilt fill his heart and burn it from the inside at the mere thought; he could not ignore the feeling of relief he had felt when Naruto had announced the marriage was cancelled, but he could not forget Naruto's pained eyes, eyes that were trying to hide the hurt under a fake smile.

He had felt so light, as if they had avoided a catastrophe, but at the same time, his heart had swelled up in pain for his adopted son.

Iruka walked to a chair and sat down on it, the frame of Sakura and Naruto still in his hands; looking at their happy faces was like staring into a dream, a dream that was now ended and he had been forced to open his eyes to the reality around him.

In his heart, he knew Naruto would go through all of this and would lift his head up high again, given a bit of time, since he was too much of a strong head and stubborn to be broken this easily. He was too strong to allow himself to be swallowed by darkness.

He would manage to go through this pain again, just like he had done before.

He had never ever given up, and he would stand up this time as well.

Iruka closed his eyes, dropping the frame on the table and relaxing on the chair, tilting his head backwards until he hit the chair's wood with the back of his neck.

He could not stop his worry thought. He would never stop worrying for Naruto as it was his nature.

How could he not?

Banging his head on the table, Iruka groaned 'Really'.

He knew Naruto, he knew him too well. He had known him for far too long for this shit. He would do something harsh; he had always been the most surprising one, ever since he was a child. He had never listened to anyone, just following his own way, the one he decided for himself, not caring at all about what others could think.

He was always where you would not expect him to be, doing things that for others would have been impossible.

He had continued his studies into college, something no one had expected him to do at all… he was not one for school and studies, though his grades were good.

The biggest surprise had been his major though –French and Chinese. He chose French over English because it was the 'language of diplomats' as he put it, and he decided over Chinese because china -as he kept saying everyone who asked- was a market in expansion.

To Iruka, it did not make sense.

Everyone who knew the blond had tried to reason with him, telling the blond that he should choose English major instead, since it was expected as the obvious choice of language –what with English being a more popular language– but he had argued back with apparently valid arguments, commenting that he had a good level of English already and that he would work on it on his own.

The only one agreeing with him about his decision had been Sakura, but her enthusiasm was based on really shallow reasons –something about always dreaming to have someone whispering sweet nothings in her ears in French.

Furthermore, Naruto had refused to have Iruka pay his bills for schooling. All of them, and any other things he needed, the blond would do it alone, not wanting to weight on his adopted father.

He had been applying for scholarships ever since middle school, more or less successfully, and later on he had taken multiple 'arbeit'(1), working early in the morning and until late at night, and in the weekends.

He had taken seriously into account his own strengths, but always managing to do more, keeping up and never backing away from his responsibilities.

Iruka had to smile, even in his worry–filled moment, because in a flash Naruto's smiling face passed in front of his closed eyes was a strong–minded person that would stop at nothing to achieve his dreams.

A second passed, and then Iruka's head shot up from the table, as he paled considerably.

What if…

What if Naruto were to decide to go after Sakura?

He would be up for another heartbreak.

Sakura was not one to use sweet–coated words when she did not like something; she was determined, hard and blunt to the point of being mean, or maybe, Iruka added to himself, she simply _was_ mean.

Closing his eyes, the brown haired teacher forced himself to breathe in and out deeply, trying to calm himself down, all the while massaging the scar he had on the brink of his nose.

There was no need to panic now. He had to have faith in Naruto.

He had to help him through this… disaster; this was the most important thing now.

Anything else would come later on.

Sighing he stood up –he had to make space for Naruto now.

**……………………………**

**Tsuzuku (TBC)**

**……………………………**

(1) Arbeit in Japanese stands for part-time job.

Thanks for reading You can review now please!


	5. Chapter 4

Hello the world!

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own nor Naruto nor Long Vacation.

Sorry for the delay... . I have difficulty to write recently. My will to write is kind of destroy each time I heard of what is currently happening in Naruto .

This story is co-authored by **StarsOfYaoi**, and edited by **Cyber-Porygon**. Thanks for your hard work!

This chapter is dedicated to **Edy **and **SOY**

Thanks to all the reviewers: **Ore no Naruto; samzygrl15; YaoiRocks; ddd **(No worries Sakura is going to suffer!!)**; LoVinu93; choclatbandit; Lita21; aloukou101; Uke Love; Jack the Ripper **(no offence taken!)**; s2 shounen ai; PirateCaptainBo; mulan** (He will be)**; sendoh11; Kags21; DarkRavie; Van 'n' Kim; RavenXI; nuzleaf; liar-just-a-liar; sorrowangel823; SeptemberStorm; crystal yuy; DeathGodGirl; MegaminoKage; tora; shino; LemonsandToffeess **(Naruto won't be over Sakura for a while...)**; hurleysuki; Minor **(enjoy)**; frogger666; goth-punkchick; quaero lumen** (Will wait for your review)**; pantherontherun; Zana Haruko; Akuma Memento Mori; biacebaolck; ProudSakurahater; Phaenilix **and last but not least **Edy** (I'm waiting for a true review now)

Your reviews are delight to read and re-read and gave me the strength to go back writing!! Thanks you very much!!

Now Enjoy reading!!

……………………………

**Long Vacation**

……………………………

**Chapter 4:**

Surely, he had to be going nuts here.

Of all the things that could have happened, screwing up or not, this was not what he had expected to do, the day after his breaking up with his fiancée.

Naruto was sitting in his kitchen, at the counter, and he was eating ramen.

The Ramen that was prepared by a complete stranger; who was also his new self-imposed roommate.

Aah, he was still wondering what on Earth had possessed him to accept the dark haired man's proposition, and he still had not thought of a possible answer.

He knew nothing about him. What was his full name, where he lived before, what job he had, absolutely nothing. He only knew he was tall, had the smoothest-looking hair he had ever seen and the strangest eyes, as well.

'He is also very good looking' –but that was a side thought. Of course, it had nothing to do with his decision.

"Say, Itachi!" Naruto slurped down his noodles and lifted his head to look at the other man. "What do you do for a living?"

Itachi simply glared at him. He was not in the mood to be on the receiving end of an interrogation, not after his small exchange with his future ex–secretary.

"Ne? Ne? I mean," Naruto grimaced a bit, trying not to sound demanding. Nevertheless, he had a good reason. "You didn't tell me your surname, nothing at all about you, and I am entitled to know a bit more about the person that I'll be sharing an apartment with, no?" Placing down his chopsticks, Naruto bowed slightly at his empty bowl, muttering some inaudible words under his breath.

"I am a lawyer." Itachi answered coldly.

The blond-haired blinked, and then blinked again.

"A lawyer," He asked eyes wide. "For real?"

Itachi's eyebrows twitched a bit.

What, that shrimp did not believe his word?

"That's so cool!" Naruto's face lit up in a huge smile. "I won't have to worry about you not paying your fee then." He grinned, and then turned serious in a second. "But then again… I'll have to worry about you dropping off your heart in the apartment when you go to work…"

He then started to laugh at his silly joke, under the vaguely uncertain stare of Itachi, who wondered if this guy was sane at all, believing that joke to be anywhere near funny.

However, Itachi could not but be taken aback by the younger male's reaction. He had all sorts of reactions from people when he told them about his work, from the usual '_but_ _you're so young…_' to the less usual but still common '_you ain't a model?_' - usually followed by a very depressed 'awwwwww' and a sad face-, but never had someone referred to his activity as it being… _cool_.

"Ok, as for me, I am working in a bank… so, no problem on my part either, don't worry!" Naruto added as an afterthought. "So, everything's good… I'm going then."

Itachi watched curiously as his roommate moved around the apartment like a bee, and then left in a pair of baggy, black pants and an orange shirt with a black swirl. He noted to himself that he preferred the blond in his tight fitting black pants.

He noted this was not a fitting choice for a job in a bank, and frowned, narrowing his eyes in curiosity mixed with confusion.

What is this person up to?

……………………………

Sakura woke up feeling slightly tired and prone to fall asleep once more.

As her consciousness called her from the land of dreams, she groaned softly in a very un–lady manner, propping herself up a bit to look at herself.

Her neck hurt badly, so did her back. The red silky sheet hanging loosely around her form and riding up a bit; looking around with half–lid eyes, Sakura found her pink dress thrown a few feet away from the bed she was onto (a queen–sized bed, in fact), and her bra was not very far away from it.

The last of her clothing was at the base of the bed.

Blinking, she realized she could hear a shower running in the adjacent room, even if only faintly. Yes, she recognized the pattern. She stood up, guessing already what had happened the other night, the sheet slowly slipping off her tights and onto the floor.

She needed her purse, and fast.

Moving quickly and silently, Sakura kneeled and recovered all her clothes, wearing them back up with care.

She looked over herself, cursing when she noticed two of her customized fake nails had been broken, and gritted her teeth in annoyance –it had taken two hours at the manicure shop to get them done, all for nothing!

Shaking her head, she went back at the previous night, recalling the facts. It had been a total disaster.

The weird caterpillar–like eyebrows freak had never left her alone all night along, so she and Sasuke never had the slightest opportunity to talk with each other in privacy –something she was sure the raven haired Uchiha had wanted to do, probably blinded by her beauty– and she had not had the chance to talk to him about their future together… how many children she wanted to have, or where she had already decided their house -no, compound- would be built, and which architect -of her choice- should be their designer, and of course, what color Sasuke's smoking should be the day of their marriage in Paris, at Notre Dame de Paris (1)…

To calm her raging nerves and maintain the lady–likeness she had worked so hard to attain, she had moved around the reception room and dawned down all the drink–able things at hand reach, biting her lip and twitching as she did so.

Her first opportunity had been a complete fiasco and she knew whom to blame for this. That eyebrows guy, had not it been for him, Sasuke would have completely fallen for her and now she would not have been in some bedroom, after a night she could not remember.

She would have been with the Uchiha, in Sasuke's bedroom, after a night with him, and already ready to move onto their marriage announcement in front of the mass media.

However, no, that guy had to glue himself at her side. Who did he think he was?

'A stupid idiot,' was her silent reply.

She did not care if she was rambling. She had every right to do so.

As her coolness returned, she realized that maybe this was not how it looked.

Yes, she could recall something else from the previous night, which made her look over her current situation with a new light.

Around the end of the party, she had managed to get rid of the bowl–cut man, dropping him off with some random excuse she did not remember, and had been able to find her future husband; Sasuke had been standing with his back against one of the marble pillars of the reception room.

She remembered him looking at her with appreciative eyes, and a loving stare. She was sure of that… afterwards, they must have had some small talk or something and afterwards she could not remember.

However, yes, Sasuke had been the last person she remembered speaking to, and it meant she was in Sasuke's bedroom, not someone else's!

Smiling broadly, Sakura fought the urge to bounce around the room. Yes, there was no other explanation, right?

Exiting the bedroom, she looked around for her purse and shoes. She found her purse on a table in the middle of the living room, and when she turned around towards the entrance door, she spotted her shoes disregarded there, laying uselessly on the floor.

One of the heels was broken at its root, and the sight made her curse again.

Damn, she loved those shoes! Even she had bought them only the day before when she was waiting for her flight in Kyôtô.

"Do you need a lift, my sweet cherry blossom?" She heard a voice from behind her ask.

She slowly, very slowly, turned around, not believing it. Her complexion paled considerably at the sight and suddenly it became very hard to breathe.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down herself.

Then, it was official.

This was a disaster!

……………………………

Naruto was standing in front of the imposing mansion of the Haruno family, fidgeting and gathering the guts to enter.

It was a huge place, one of those houses only the rich could have, and Naruto admired every inch of it not for the money spent on building it up, but on the refined appearance it had as a whole, the sheer beauty it had, and the sensations that house could invoke in the visitors and guests.

He had been there many times with _her_, but never alone as he was now.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

He was not sure if this was the right thing to do, to come here this soon after what had happened, but he wanted to clear things up with _her_ parents, and he knew they had every right to read the letter _she_ had left him.

Not out of spite, of course, he was not this evil… but to let them know _she_ was fine, that their child was not in danger.

His right hand closed in a firm fist and he brought it down on the wooden door, knocking loudly on it; his eyes fluttered close, as he took breath after breath. This was not going to be easy. On the other side of the door, he could hear the hurried footsteps of the butler coming near.

"Welcome," the butler said politely, not smiling and looking rather stiff. "What can I do for you?"

Naruto looked at the man nervously, gulping down his insecurity.

"I would like to see Haruno–san, if it's possible!" He asked in polite speech, trying to keep his voice firm.

"I will see what can be done about it, Uzumaki–san, please wait there." The butler answered curtly, leading Naruto inside to a small waiting room painted in light blue.

Naruto knew that room too well, but he had never been there before; this was the waiting room Haruno–san reserved for his important guests but he had never been a wanted guest, anyway.

He let his eyes wander to the middle of the room where there was a low wooden table with a white cloth covering its surface, and noticed there was an old–looking light green crystal bowl standing on top of it. It was filled three–quarters by water, and into the liquid, there were small pink and white blossoms -freshly cut every couple of days- with small green leaves and chives.

He looked at the bowl, watching as the soft breeze coming from the open sliding doors created small wrinkles and fractures on the surface of the water, making the blossoms tremble and float around.

Naruto felt his shoulders relax a little as he stared at the calming sight of the water in the bowl.

His deep blue eyes trailed away from the table and the wrinkles in the water to the inner–garden that was clear outside the sliding doors.

It was small and bare, the type of Zen garden that was so common in old houses, with strategically placed grey pebbles in a square of ground covered with grey–ish smooth sand.

Naruto bit down his lower lip in wonder.

He had never been religious in the first place or anything like that. The only thing that the garden had always evoked in him was the urge to go and dig his hands in the sand to know if it really was as smooth as it looked, even though he liked the feeling he got by looking at them.

He knew the Haruno family had one, because even though he had never been allowed this far into the household, _she_ always talked about it to him.

_She_ had never liked it. Her thoughts were that an empty garden that looked too much like a desert was useless. There was no purpose to it if it was not nice to look at and if you could not walk into it…

To her a garden had to be filled with fountains of sprinkling water, and expensive rare flowers everywhere. Naruto knew that once she had tried to remove all the pebbles and sand and had ordered a gardener to replace them with a small artificial pond with orchids around, water lilies inside, and when Haruno–san had seen it, he had promptly replaced everything.

Naruto had not been there, but _she_ had told him everything in vicious words, how her father had yelled at her, and his mean words, and how she had been displeased –how stupid sand and stones were not her idea of romanticism, how it was stupid her father liked it instead.

He had never countered her ideas, because he had never really understood the state of mind that was required with Zen practices, but right now…

Right now, he felt like he could understand.

Once his life had been like a giant desert of different shades of grey, filled with cold and heavy glares and harsh whispers, but void of anything warm, void of _everything_.

Then, one day, he began to 'socialize' –first was Iruka. He came crashing in his life, and in the desert that was his heart appeared a calming, comforting ocean of the deepest blue; the soft sound of its waves nursing his cold bare world.

Soon afterwards, he met his very first friends, Shikamaru and Chōji. In addition, his desert filled with butterflies floating everywhere, lulled by the ocean waves, and above everything appeared an ever azure summer sky with white cotton clouds swimming around.

Then _she_ came. Like a growing, lush cherry tree, its roots invading everywhere. At first like a small shrub, unable to offer more than a faint shadow that could not protect him, then growing stronger and bigger, a giant tree standing proudly in the middle of his desert, its shadows protecting him, shielding his heart, his mind, from the harsh whispers and the cold glares.

The sounds of the wind prying through its branches and the sweet scent of its cherry blossoms made him feel safe and comfortable, lulling him.

He had never wanted to let that feeling go.

Now it was gone by itself. Once again, he found himself alone, as if the beautiful sight his transformed desert had offered was now gone, and he was back to its horrible, cold grey desert, with cruel winds flowing through the dead sand.

The harsh voices and whispers had vanished as well this time, though, and everything felt so…

Empty.

Naruto allowed a silent bitter laugh to leave his lips; he would have never thought he could feel so alone… when he was still surrounded by friend.

The blond man was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even hear the door open again, revealing the butler's figure stepping in.

"Uzumaki–san, if you follow me, Haruno–sama will meet with you." The man said, startling Naruto out of his depressing thoughts.

Naruto jumped up from his seat, brushing invisible wrinkles away from his clothes. A sad smile made its way on his lips, and followed the butler through the maze that was the halls and corridors of the Haruno household.

……………………………

Shikamaru groaned and glared at his friend, watching her as she walked back and forth in front of him, her face unreadable, her long bleached hair was tied in a high ponytail, and was moving softly around her as she quickly turned around.

She then stopped violently right in front of him, chewing her lower lip, her eyes gazing into his before she returned to her pacing –or stomping.

"You… knew..." He asked, more than stated in disbelief, his voice was harsh and questioning; dripping with barely suppressed anger, he inhaled deeply one last time from his cigarette, a nasty habit he had picked up from his superior and mentor Sarutobi Asuma -probably one of the few people that actually had some kind of control over him-, then he crushed it in the ashtray at his right.

He was astonished, completely bewildered. The words that had left her mouth had shocked him to the core, as he was not expecting something like this.

Ino stopped her pacing once again, biting fiercely on her lips until a drop of blood appeared on her rosy skin. She passed her tongue over her lips, tasting the blood on her abused appendage.

This was not going to be easy. It took her so much to get the courage to speak to him about this, and now she had to go through with it.

She took a couple of deep breaths, preparing herself to speak, mouth opening, pale blue eyes meeting Shikamaru's brown ones… and then she closed it, looking away. She repeated the process again.

"I didn't… well, I didn't know, per say. I had… I had a feeling it could happen," Ino said in the end, avoiding the glare the Nara was throwing her way.

The blonde-haired woman looked down at her yellow platform shoes, rubbing her heels against the old off–while linoleum.

"How so?" Shikamaru's voice was strangely calm, in such situation.

Ino tried to smile sheepishly, but all she managed to do was stretch her lips in a thin line. She had hoped she would be able to avoid speaking about that, but she had no choice.

She sighed.

"Lately… Sakura had… well, she had this obsession, you know..." She fidgeted stopping and hoping it would be enough.

Of course, it was not as Shikamaru lifted one eyebrow, silently prodding Ino to continue.

She gulped, looking everywhere but at the lazy young man, biting her lip again.

Everyone, from her agent to her photographer -she was a model- kept on telling her to stop doing that so much, but it was a habit she had picked up from her childhood, and she could not stop herself from doing it.

"I need for you know everything from the beginning, so you can understand." She relented, letting herself fall onto the old, uncomfortable ash–colored armchair next to Shikamaru.

The pineapple haired young man sighed. It would be _so_ troublesome.

"So…" Ino sighed, wondering if this would become a new tic of her to go with the biting lips. She tried to gather her thoughts. "It was… a few weeks ago, I think, a month at most. I called her, you know, and… I was working on an ad for my work, we needed a make–up specialist and of course I thought of Sakura as first person..." She started gesturing around as if she was used to when explaining things. "I was a bit wary thought, it was a big contract with the Uchiha corporation and was represented by the heir of the Uchiha corp. and… well, it was Uchiha Sasuke, who's in the Top Ten list of the sexiest men in Japan, and… Sakura, you see, can be a bit…"

Ino kept on fidgeting and biting her lips, taking some big breaths to calm down again. Shikamaru merely stared at her, not making a move to help her relax and not telling her to stop her habit.

"She is easily distracted..." She finally said, carefully weighting her words.

"This is an understatement." Shikamaru muttered, taking out another cigarette and lighting it.

"Yeah, well, everything was going fine, she did her work pretty well, and didn't get distracted, which was a plus, you see… we even got that contract!" Ino concluded with a small sad smile.

Shikamaru knew that Ino had been excluded from the team working on that contract even though it had been obvious that it was thanked to her work that they had obtained it in the first place; he had always wondered why Kurenai had taken such an unfair decision.

Now he could begin to put the pieces together.

Had it been… by any chance, Sakura's fault?

"Then…?" he prodded her again.

"Then… she… well, she became… weird, in a way. She was always lurking around the building; she even started scaring clients away. My boss asked…" Ino stopped, laughing bitterly at the memory.

No. Kurenai had not asked her, she had ordered her, threatening to fire her. Sakura had done a great job at putting every person working at the agency on edge.

"She asked me to make her… go away. If I wanted to keep my job, I had to! Therefore, I went and told her. And she replied…"

There she started pacing back and forth again, unable to stay still anymore.

"She said she wanted to see her 'soul mate', Shika… I thought… only Sakura could find such silly name for her lover."

Unwanted, a small smile formed on her lips at the thought of her best friend strange quirk for ridiculous nicknames, but it disappeared as soon as it came as she reminded herself of the subject at hand.

"I told her that Naruto was not here, how could he? Honestly! The baka never put a foot inside the building; it's too 'unfeeling' for him, whatever that means!" Ino rolled her eyes remembering Naruto's strong protests when they had tried to drag him inside the building for lunch.

"What did she _do_?" Shikamaru asked putting both his elbows on his shins and resting his chin on his folded hands.

Ino shook her head, now was not the moment to get nostalgic.

"She barked at me telling me it was not Naruto she was looking for… not him, but _her 'soul mate'_… In the beginning, I didn't understand. Then she accused _**me**_ of trying to steal the _'love of her life'_… She was hysterical…"

Ino sat down again, throwing violently her head back, making her hair flew around, as she fixed her eyes on some imaginary spot on the white ceiling above their heads.

Remembering these facts still brought her a pang of pain. She should have stopped Sakura before it was too late, and in a way… it felt like it was her fault.

"I tried to calm her, I really tried… she yelled and tried to scratch me, I thought she would take one of my eyes out, she was nailing me so viciously… She wanted to know where I was hiding _'her love'_. I thought she was high or something along that line, because… she was with Naruto, she couldn't be acting like this, so… stalker–ish. It happened once or twice already, though. When she finally calmed down and looked subdued, I asked her what was it all about…" Ino stopped closing slowly her eyes.

"It's my entire fault, you know...If it wasn't for me… She would have never…" Ino blurted out, finally revealing the weight she had been wearing on her chest all this time. A small tear escaped her eye, rolling down her cheek.

Shikamaru frowned but Ino could not see it, as she had closed her eyes.

"She wanted to know where her love… the only one she could think about…was Uchiha Sasuke…" Ino ended in a dark and low voice.

……………………………

Naruto sat on the soft black leathered armchair in front of the massive dark brown cherry–wood desk without being able to look anywhere else but in front of him. The tension was so thick he knew he had drowned into it if it did not dispel soon.

The room he was in was… there were not many words able to describe it. It was simple, very simple, but at the same time, impressive. It was small, but with a few traditional paintings on the walls, and the huge desk, and the armchairs… it looked really professional, and imposing.

Not to mention _her_ father was there in front of him, his eyes fixed on him.

The sliding doors behind Haruno–san opened, and Naruto could see the same Zen garden he had been admiring from the waiting room.

Naruto had to admit that from this point of view, from Haruno–san's office, the garden looked somewhat less… empty, less bare.

"So… what can I do for you, Uzumaki–san?" Higashi asked with a dark tone, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

In his mind, the young man in front of him could only be here for one reason –ask for compensation, a financial one.

These sort of… people only had money in mind. They were greedy robbers, whose only goal in life was to steal what hard–working people like himself had obtained as result of years of hard work.

Higashi had known Naruto to be one since the start, despite the smiles and fake appearance, because Naruto was poor. He would surely want only money. Now that Sakura had… somehow… dropped him off, he would be there and use it at his advantage.

"I… Haruno–san, I wanted to speak about the apartment..." Naruto began, taking a deep breath and fidgeting ever so slightly.

Higashi's glare hardened even more. What did that mongrel want? Was the apartment not of his liking anymore? Did he want more?

Effectively, Higashi had to admit it, Naruto could ask for more. It would be clever to ask for real–estate goods as compensation.

"I was thinking… that since your daughter is… away…" Naruto bit down his lip, knowing he was not doing a good job at speaking it out.

He had repeated the conversation he would have with _her_ father over and over again, practicing it out, but now that he was facing the imposing man, he was at loss of words as how to express what he wanted without appearing like a selfish little opportunist.

Which he knew Higashi thought he was.

Usually he was not this hesitant when speaking, but this was a new situation, he knew he had no control over. The control had never been his at all, not even once, and Naruto had never liked situations where he could not control what happened.

"I… I wanted to know if I could… keep the apartment," Naruto said quickly, finally blurting out what he wanted to say.

Higashi's eyes narrowed so much at Naruto's insolence, that the blond almost could not see the man's eyes anymore. Higashi was furious. But there again, was it not common practice for the 'abandoned' part of a failed engagement to keep the gifts offered for the marriage?

"Ah! No, wait…" Naruto immediately yelled flaying his arms around, seeing the frown forming on Higashi's face. He stood up in a second, looking down at the older man without realizing his improper actions –so much he wanted to explain himself. "It's not what you think! I don't want to keep the apartment as my own, as a gift or anything!"

"What do you mean?" Higashi asked putting his chin on his folded hands, his elbows firmly planted on his desk. He really wanted to know where this conversation was headed.

"I… I mean… well, I want to be able to stay in the apartment… because, you see, I have nowhere to go, it is not easy to find out another place, but… I don't want to rob you or anything! I don't want to live there at your expenses!" Naruto began to ramble, trying to find the right words. "I just want to stay there… I'll pay the rent and all, without failing, not even for a month! I swear, no matter how high you will set the price, I will do it".

Naruto suddenly realized that in his rush he had shot up and was now staring down at the Haruno, so he blushed and hastily sat down again, looking up at Higashi in fear of his reaction.

"If that does not bother you, of course…" Naruto added quickly, thinking he had probably angered the old man in front of him even more.

Naruto sat still, his shoulders stiff, all his energy drained away by his burst. Passing his tongue over his dry now lips; he wondered if Higashi would throw him out, and then what about Itachi?

His blue eyes locked with Higashi's deep dark ones, but this time, Naruto's gaze did not waver, his lips twitching ever so slightly as he fought and won the urge to look away.

A small smile made its way on Higashi's thin pale–colored lips. Today he was proven once again that looks could definitely deceive. He had thought the young blond to be a player, a damn trickster, like all those Chite (2) he despised so much, and that he would break his daughter's heart as soon as he had obtained what he was aiming for –his daughter's money, but he had been wrong not just once, but twice!

Naruto had had the guts not to use the failed marriage at his own advantage, and had asked to meet only to ask the usage of an apartment, intent even in paying a rent.

Obviously, the young Uzumaki Naruto was full of surprises.

……………………………

**Tsuzuku (TBC)**

……………………………

(1) It is a cathedral in Paris, France (no, it is not just the title of Disney Movie or the title of a book by Victor Hugo)

(2) Half–blood.

Now that you read, you can drop a review please... You too Edy!


	6. chapter 5

Hello the world!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own nor Naruto nor Long Vacation.

This story is co-authored by **StarsOfYaoi.**. Thanks for your hard work!

This chapter is dedicated to **Edy** for her Birthday: **Happy Birthday!!!** :D

This chapter is un-beta-ed, please take it into consideration.

For all those who though that I had stopped writing: No, I didn't! University (or rather the idiots blocking it aka I had to fight to go univ' and was too tired to be able to write) forced me into a very long non writing period... . Added to that that my dear SOY was hit by the terrible writer block's illness that seems to attack a lot of Naruto's fanfic writers.

**Important:** I'm not trying to bash Sakura even though it look like it the goal is too show how shallow/stupid some people can be. I may remind you that 'my' Sakura (because honestly she had next to nothing of Kishimoto's sixteen-years-old Sakura's persona) has a real life model! This is not really bashing!

Thanks to all the reviewers: **Devil-Speaker**;**NiChee**; **dagget**; **DeathGodGirl**;**Mad Mardigan**; **Kougyoku**; **DarkRavie**;**PirateCaptainBo**; **creepy crab**; **txgirl123**;**Creasias**; **tokiko-chan**; **lkj** (hmm Sakura is the bad guy of the story and she will have a lesson teach but no death for her); **ddd** (hey that's Sakura :p); **eTerNaLzAnzI98**;**Hime**; **frogger666**; **lady-ribbon** (thanks for your two reviews); **sydneydallas**; **lildevil425**; **cutsycat** (I'm sorry I didn't answer your review sooner . But here is the long awaited chapter); **Catgirl4351** (Thank you very much for both your reviews! And ItaNaru will come soon I hope... The day will pass slowly (for this one day) because a lot of thing happens);**shu** (thanks there is your update); **rozengrass**;**PurpleKiw**i.

And a special mention to **ProudSakuraHater** who reviewed Five time the chapter 5 (I know I've made you wait too long! Mea Culpa!) and no Sakura won't end up fat at least I won't write that far into futur who knows what the futur held for Sakura and I don't know this Timbaland's song or at least it does not ring a bell.

And thanks to all those who added this story or me to their alert!

Enjoy!!

……………………………

**Long Vacation**

……………………………

**Chapter 5:**

……………………………

Sakura's face paled drastically; her shoulder tensed as she quickly diverted her eyes from the tall figure that was standing in front of her, trying to suppress a shudder.

She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, mechanically moving out of the suite barefoot, abandoning her shoes behind and not bothering to listen to the pleas of the tall black haired man, who was worrying over her health.

'_If I ignore it, it will disappear, like if it has never been there…'_ she kept repeating this like a mantra, trying to reassure herself._'Nothing happened, nothing!'_

In her haste to run away, she slammed the door close whilst exiting the room, hurrying down the corridor with barely concealed horror; despite her distress, she managed to find the elevator, a few meters away, and walked up to it, her shredded dress swirling and curling around her as she moved.

'_Don't let this reach you! Must stay dignified! Head up!'_ she scolded herself, lifting her chin up high as she frantically pressed the elevator button, willing the doors to open as soon as possible. Her wide eyes were roaming around, scanning the hall, praying hard for no one to see her current state.

Finally, the automatic doors opened with a muffled whirr, and Sakura threw herself in the elevator's cabin, pushing the bottom and breathing in relief when the doors closed behind her.

No, thankfully that horrid person didn't follow her in; honestly, she was not sure she would have had the strength to look at him too long, let alone speak with him and still keep her polite front, the one she practiced for so long to achieve.

The mere thought was revolting.

She was quite proud of her acting skills, since she had fooled numerous people, men and women alike, old, young, from the meekest to the heartless, she had managed to seduce them all; manipulating, twisting their minds, until she could attain her goal.

Of course, that could only work if she was able to keep her temper in check, and she knew that some things were too much, even for her.

Just like that… person, back in the suite, whose name she could not even properly remember anymore –Li, Lai, something like this– she could not speak with him keeping her front intact, she would have surely ruined it all by lashing out at him.

Turning around, keeping her back on the doors, she watched her distorted reflection on the golden metal board, methodically combing her hair with her hands to put it back into place; rummaging through her purse for the small powder–box she used to keep in there, she scolded as her reflection of her face appeared in the round mirror of the box.

Apparently, she had lost one of her lens, and the thought was enough to ruin her mood a bit more… she would have to buy new ones again, and it was such a bother!

Readjusting her make up, she added more blush on her cheeks, quickly brushing some eye–shadow on her eyes, blinking twice to adjust. Blinking again, she fought the urge to massage her left eye, that was already starting to hurt.

Gritting her teeth, she looked up, uncaring –it would have to wait, at least for the time being. Sighing, she finished the inspection and after placing the powder–box back in the purse she smoothed out the dress as much as she could, trying to hide the wrinkles.

The elevator reached Ground Floor with a loud ping, and Sakura straightening up, stepping outside in the hall, her chin up and a small polite smile on her face. Walking up to the reception desk, she pressed her manicured hands on the wooden surface.

"Excuse me…" she started, with a sweet–coated voice, elegantly hiding her condescending undertone. "Could you please call a taxi for me?"

"But certainly, I can." the young receptionist replied just as politely, picking up her phone. "Your taxi should be here in a minute, miss. If you would, please, wait here."

Sakura turned around with a curt nod, eyes meeting with an old couple that was watching her; the old woman was whispering something in her husband's ear, loudly enough for Sakura to hear, about her unacceptable get–up.

The pink haired young woman gritted her teeth, hiding her anger and showing restraint as she walked past the old couple, not even sparing a glance at the two as she passed by.

Outside the doors, her taxi was already waiting for her, and she thankfully directed it to her new apartment.

She arrived there half an hour later, utterly exhausted, and carelessly threw her purse on the console in the entrée way.

It was not even midday and she was already feeling the stress weight her down, such a horrible morning! All she wanted was to take a bath, nothing more, nothing less. A long, relaxing bath.

Moving to her bedroom, she caught sight of the post–it she had scotched on the mirror hanging on the wall, the pink ink clashing terribly with the dark yellow of the paper '_Meeting 12h work TV Tôkyô, (Nihon Keizai Shimbun) 4-3-12, Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tôkyô (1)_'.

Looking down at her watch, Sakura realized it was just ten. She had the time to take a bath, that was for sure.

……………………………

Whilst other people paced through rooms whilst phoning to unnerving associates that had nothing better to do than get nosey, Itachi had the habit of staying still, his eyes never wandering from the spot he was looking at.

Though the distress with his associate was clear by how his left brow twitched lightly every now and then.

"No, not today, anyway…" Itachi muttered in his phone. "Why?... that is none of your business… no, I don't care, not at all… this is what you are here for, Kisame…"

Itachi let out a small huff as he hang up on the conversation, effectively ending the discussion he was having with his associate. The man had the bad habit of being pretty nosy, especially with Itachi's matters, and even if he was used to it, the fact still bothered him.

Soon after leaving his parents, tasting the freedom he had not been able to fantom under the control of his father and clan, Itachi found himself with many directions open for him to follow. He had a clear idea on what he wanted to do, since despite his father's acting, he had liked his lawyer studying. He did not want to quit with it.

That was why, after finally creating his own office, he had associated himself with several other lawyers he had met in court rooms, and that he had some sort of respect for. Many of them had been harsh, but competent, and all in all Itachi had felt they were just the right people he wanted to work with.

He had to admit that their work was, for the most part, far from legal, at least under the surface, but those were matters that held no importance. As long as he got what he wanted.

It was not a matter of justice or injustice. Living in the Uchiha clan family erased all morals Itachi could have had in his childhood. He only accepted cases he could feel some interest in, and that he could easily win, but there were some exceptions to that.

He had rules for himself, rules that no one gave him but that he accepted without thinking about them too much –reveal information about his cases was a no–no, so not even his secretary knew about these (she also did not know anything about his… not–so–legal intercourses).

Also, even though he often did not differentiate between the innocent and the guilt, as he never judged those he defended, he still had lines he did not want to cross. Like child abusers, for example. Or mass murders.

The group he had helped create was not by all means a congregation of lawyers that worked together, but more of a secret organization of sorts, where each one had their specific department to work with, and their only interaction was when it was required.

There was Sasori, who worked with his partner Deidara as notary –fighting daily over such meaningless things as art–, there was Hidan, who by far was the one who enjoyed death penalty cases the most, even though his idea of justice was distorted by the strange, under–religion he followed -whose God demanded blood to be spilled for him.

The one he had been having a conversation with was Kisame, the one amongst the 'organization' that he worked the best with –no matter their altercations– who specialized mainly on divorces and similar, but that also helped Itachi out on his cases and was pretty useful when it came to information gathering.

The name of the organization was Akatsuki –whispers of that name, hushed and fear–laced- filled the undergrounds of all the cities, even though no one knew if it really existed, and who were its members -as no one of the associates wanted to use their real names when crossing the legal line.

A shrilling ring echoed through the apartment as Itachi was about to place his phone down on the nearest counter, effectively shaking the Uchiha out of his thoughts. Placing down his cell phone, he slowly proceeded to the door, picking the hand microphone that was hanging from the wall next to the door, on the left.

Satisfied that the apartment had a small entry phone, with a camera on the outside, Itachi picked up the receiver and looked at the screen in front of him.

"Yes?" he muttered, frowning darkly as his eyes narrowed at the person showing on the screen.

The strangled and high–pitched voice of his secretary squished through the receiver and effectively managed to deafen Itachi, forcing him to distance his ear from it in order to understand what she was saying.

"Uchiha–san? It is Minako".

After a small hesitation the dark haired man pressed the button for the building door to allow his secretary in, listening to the soft buzz sound coming from the outside.

"6th floor, apartment number 616," Itachi added coldly before hanging up.

A few minutes later, someone knocked at the door. Quickly, Itachi opened it, finding his secretary precariously balancing herself out, with two bags hanging down to her hips, and one on each shoulder; in her hands, she was holding a black suitcase.

Itachi took the case from her, walking away and leaving his secretary at the threshold, not even bothering to invite her in –which any other person would have considered very rude.

Moving past the coffee table, he opened the case and clicked open his laptop, connecting it to the nearest wall–plug with no hesitation.

Minako, who had been standing still until then, finally decided to speak, unable to take her eyes away from the apartment. "So, Uchiha–san…" she began, with a trembling and shy voice "so… ah… you're going to live in there?"

Taking off her shoes trying not to look clumsy, pushing them in a corner with her naked feet, Minako entered the main room, scanning around the place with her dark brown eyes; she quickly assessed the various pictures on the wall, the furniture and the books as she juggled to hold the bags better.

It was not a bad apartment, at least she thought so. Pushing a strand of her short dark hair behind her ear, she bit her lower lip in wonder, frowning when the strand stubbornly moved again on her forehead.

Minako frowned, eyes narrowing as she took in the small details she had overlooked at her first glances around. It was obvious that a woman was living there –the green plants, strategically placed in the corners, the lavish pink curtains tied with a reddish bow at the kitchen's window, the dark pink cushions that were adding colour to the white sofa…

Yes, everything screamed of a woman's touch. Minako could feel the strong stirring of jealousy move inside her chest, but tried to ignore the feeling. Maybe it was just a woman's touch of an already decorated apartment, before her employer leased it out.

Maybe there was no woman living there with her boss…

"Where do I put those?" she finally asked, trying to sound casual and not intrusive as she spoke.

Itachi made a vague motion to the two doors at the other side of the room, his eyes never lifting from his laptop, and Minako nodded, walking to the door on the left, assuming this was Itachi's room.

Her back low for the weight of the bags, she entered the room, exiting it only seconds later. She had few time to actually glance around -she could not actually snoop- but she had been right about her employer: he had found a woman.

The bedroom was the absolute, indisputable proof of it.

Biting the inside of her mouth to prevent her face from showing the wild emotions she was feeling now, Minako made her way back to where Itachi was sitting, shifting uncertainly as she approached.

He was escaping her.

After all this time, carefully spent trying to attract Itachi's attention on her, dressing as properly as she had to, looking professional, competent, the perfect secretary anyone would want; after weeks and months spent learning all she could about law so she could be of help, wiggling her hips, showing him her brains and her body as well…

Itachi found someone else.

Where?

Who?

Who could be better than she was?

Minako licked her abused lips.

"Uchiha–san?" she hesitated, but did not stop. "Do you, by any chance, have a… roommate?" choosing her words well, carefully, she stepped forwards.

It was then that Itachi finally looked up from the screen, turning accusingly dark red eyes on the woman that was standing a few feet away from him, looking down at her hands as she shifted pathetically on her feet.

Slowly, she lifted her head, her eyes meeting with Itachi's red ones, and blushed.

That was it, he would understand her devotion, her love, he would surely tell her something now, that–

"Minako" Itachi began, his voice as smooth as silk. "You're fired".

The jingle of the computer signalled that Windows had loaded completely, and Itachi returned his eyes to the screen, completely ignoring the woman that now stood frozen in the middle of the room, unmoving.

……………………………

Higashi was pacing in his office, his mind going through the talk he just had with the ex–fiancé of his daughter, replaying it over and over.

He did not even notice he had knocked off a stack of papers out from their ordinate pile, too deep in thought to notice they had fallen on top of his desk, crumbling together in a chaotic mass.

Never in his life had he faced such a shocking, life–changing talk, ever before. Never had his beliefs been shaken so throughout, so much he felt lost.

Until the day before, every thing about it all had been certain. But, today, his world had crumbled under his feet, collapsing away.

A bitter smile found its way on the man's lips, as he remembered all too clearly that just twenty hours before he had been hoping -for nothing more than a split second- for the marriage to be cancelled, foolishly believing that his life would remain unchanged through it all.

He would have never thought it to be possible for his sweet, innocent daughter to be the one cancelling it out, the one betraying her word.

He had imagined that the bastard –as he had taken on calling the blond fiancé of his daughter in private– would forsaken the wedding, for some miraculous reason, and there he was, utterly mystified that he had been wrong.

That the child he had given no second thought in hating was not the poisonous snake he believed. Not only had he been wrong about the blond, but also -and this hurt more than anything else- about his own daughter.

He had to shut his eyes close as they fell on the picture of his beloved child that he kept on the desk, picking it up and holding in his hands, unable to look down at it; he knew it by memory anyhow… a child not older than six, dressed in a silly pink dress, holding her favourite toy, a teddy bear of the same colour as her dress –Monsieur Ours– cuddled in her puffy arms.

She was smiling at him, back in a time when, finally out of their hardships, Higashi and his wife had been living in happiness, trying to let Sakura have everything she wanted.

Higashi could remember the scene perfectly, in front of his closed eyes –Sakura giggling and trying to reach up to him, and his wife laughing as he fumbled with the camera, unable to make Sakura stay still enough to flash a photo, then, in the end, he managed to make her calm down by giving her Monsieur Ours.

She was his little angel.

Always had been.

What did go wrong then?

How on Earth had his little lovely angel turned into a rotten, spoiled princess? Had he been so blind not to see the tell–tale signs before?

His grip tightening around the frame, fingers trembling in fury and guilt, Higashi pressed too hard on the thin glass layer, making it crackle under the pressure, blood from his now bruised thumb tips slowly trickling down the cracks.

The faint but instant pain was welcome as Higashi's eyes fluttered close again, hoping it could erase, if only for a second, the pain he felt deep in his heart.

"Do you remember, anata (2)?" the soft voice of his wife broke the trance he was in, shaking him out of his musings. "Do you remember that she wanted to be like her daddy when she grew older?"

He turned around to face her.

"She was such a sweet child..." Mikoto murmured, her black eyes filling with tenderness as she pried the picture away from her husband's grasp.

She passed her hands on the back of her pale blue kimono to smooth it down as she moved to sit on one of the brown–coloured soft leather sofa; placing the picture on her knee and took out her handkerchief, unfolding neatly at her side before proceeding to delicately take out the small shards of the broken glass.

She still remembered clearly the day the picture had been taken: it was at her blossom's sixth birthday, as she was putting to bed her little Sakura. The young girl was still wearing the pink wig that was part of the princess attire she wore for her birthday party; her Monsieur Ours, the cute little bear her father had bought her whilst returning from one of his business trip in France when Sakura was four, was being held tightly in her arms.

She had never parted from it when she was little, not when she left to go to school, nor when she had to go to the doctor or the dentist –she even took it with her during a trip to Ôsaka with her class, coming back crying because she had ripped a bit of its left ear.

But now… Monsieur Ours did not matter to Sakura anymore.

Mikoto felt a wave of nostalgia pass through her, together with a painful twinge at the thought. Maybe, just like Monsieur Ours, she as well did not hold any importance in her daughter's eyes.

A lone tear fell down her cheek.

"Where are you?" she whispered, her voice cracking as she traced Sakura's chubby face with her index, tears now freely running down her soft cheeks.

Higashi looked down at his wife, his heart wrenching in pain at the mirrored one on her face. A feeling he thought he would never feel for a member of his own family was now blossoming in his chest, growing stronger with each moment passing by… and he was feeling it for his daughter none the less –resentment!

What a terrible feeling!

It was burning down his throat to his chest, feeling helpless as he watched his family crumble down… and what for?

He knew who was at fault –it was Sakura, his own flesh and blood, his only child, his beautiful rose and yet, as a father, he should have been able to forgive her for whatever mistake she might have done. But he could not find in himself the strength to forgive her for making his precious Mikoto cry.

Was he a bad father?

Was he wrong in thinking that any daughter causing their mother to cry was a bad daughter?

He thought back to his past, his life as a father: he had always tried to be a good parent, always placing his family before anything else, coming home early, spending time with his wife and daughter. He had imposed himself a curfew, and the same to his entire administration department's employees –19 o'clock at the most. Then he would close up and go home, and play with his little rose up until dinner, and then he would be the one to tuck her into bed with a kiss on her forehead, basking in the big, sparkling eyes of Sakura as she carefully listened to his stories of princes and princesses, her favourites.

He would always buy her presents when, for some reason or another, he had been forced to come home late, or when he had to move out of town for work. Each summer, he would go on a one–week vacation somewhere in the world so his rose would see all those different cultures, exploring those countries he had dreamt so much about when he was a young man.

Turkey, China, Korea, Bombay, and even two weeks in America, spending time just with Mikoto and Sakura, making both happy, showering them with love –and he loved them so much.

He had really done his best to raise her; she was intelligent, and terribly so! She went to the best of schools, regardless the price… doing anything so she would get a life, to be able to do anything she wanted, with no restrictions, even if it was merely to become a make–up artist.

Anything for her.

Maybe… maybe he had spoiled her far too much, in his fear to not be able to make her happy. And now she was… where was she?

"Tôkyô" Higashi said abruptly, shaking himself out of his thoughts. "She is in Tôkyô".

Mikoto lifted her head, eyes wide.

"Tôkyô?" she repeated, a desperate undertone.

Oh, how she hated that city. She had lived through her worst moments in Tôkyô, and just thinking about it filled her with dread. She did not want to go back in there, never!

How could… how could she get her daughter back if she had moved off to that place?

Mikoto's hands trembled as she dropped the frame from her lap, watching it with unseeing eyes as it fell on the white carpet, where it laid broken, as a mocking reminder of an old, long since gone past. Burying her face in her hands to muffle the choking should of the sobs that were racking through her, Mikoto cried, unable to stand the horrifying truth of Higashi's words.

She could feel the presence of her husband standing still a few inches away from her, not touching her, but comforting her a bit at the same time.

She took a deep, shuddering breath: "We have to go there! To take her back!" she yelled, looking up at her love with tear–stained cheeks. "Anata(2)…"

Higashi looked harshly at his wife, his anger overwhelming his previous comforting aura.

No, he could not forgive her. He could not, _would not_ go after her. He could not spoil her more than he already did, he could not act as if Sakura was right in hurting both him and Mikoto! He could not close his eyes again, even if a part of him wanted to…

She had made her own decision, and this time… this time, he would not help her out. It was over. Over. The time had come for Sakura to finally taste what reality was.

"No, we won't." Higashi said harshly, his voice calm but final. "She has a week. A week, to repent from her decisions. If she is not back by then…" he did not have to continue.

Mikoto cried out, latching on her husband's hands, the despair still heavy inside her chest.

"Anata…" the woman pleaded, her eyes filled with new tears, tears of despair. "Don't–"

"She has made her decision. It is time for her to grow up." Higashi said softly at his wife.

The man's eyes were dark as he walked up to his desk, picking up his phone with slightly trembling hands and dialling a number. After a moment he heard the click that signalled the connection was open.

"I'm Mister Haruno… I want to speak with Hatake-san…"

……………………………

The day was just perfect. Obito was humming happily, going nowhere but simply enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin, and he was moving down the street, a half–plan to watch a movie later, when he caught sight of someone he knew on the opposite side of the road.

Blinking and rechecking if he was actually right, he was overjoyed to see that it was true –Naruto was walking right there. A grin slowly wormed its way on his face, making him immediately look younger.

"**Naruto!!**"

Honestly, Obito did not care if the few passer byes were watching him as if he had grown a second head, scurrying away as if he had some infectious disease; the person he had wanted to talk with was on the other end of the street, and he was not going to pass up that occasion to speak with the blond, only to follow some unwritten rules of politeness, or whatever rule he was breaking.

For him, things did not work that way. He was carefree and hated constrictions, whilst his 'family' still tried to impose its control on him; but Obito did not really care –no one would ever control him, he did only what he wanted to.

A smile formed on his face as he saw the blond looking around frantically, trying to locate who was calling his name. At last, Naruto finally noticed him waving.

"Wait for me _right there_!" Obito yelled, gesticulating frantically, trying to convey his intentions through his gestures. "I'm coming over through the footbridge! Don't move!"

Naruto smiled a bit with a raised eyebrow, watching the older man on the other end of the street; he had always thought Obito was a bit weird, but in the nice way. He really liked him, feeling as if they shared some kind of understanding. Obito was funny and anti–conformist, loud and cheerful, and he did not hide it.

Sometimes Naruto wondered if there was more to him than what transpired by his attitude, not to mention the fact that the man had never told him his real family name; but then he reminded himself that he did not really care about it… to him, Obito was Obito, that was all.

"_No strings attached, I am a free bird!"_ was the way he answered whenever someone would ask about it.

Sometimes Naruto wished he could be able to pull off that carefree act like Obito could, but he knew better than that –Obito was not really carefree, at least not entirely. He was hiding.

"Naruto? Hey, oh? Naruto?" Obito was waving his hand in front of his face, trying to catch the blond's attention, making Naruto blink in surprise, shaking himself out of his thoughts.

"Ah, sorry..." Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile, as Obito made a face at him. "So, what brings you here?"

"I wanted to speak with you," Obito said as he began walking down the street. "Would you come with me?"

"Ah, yes… I am really sorry for yesterday," Naruto said walking up to Obito and falling in a pace at his side. "I made you waste a day…"

Obito smiled sadly at the younger man, "You are not responsible of that, Naruto".

The two walked in silence for a minute, but it was not an uncomfortable one. Naruto busied himself by looking around, wondering if Obito would mention the previous day again or not, and the older man just looked in front of him, whistling something in a low tune.

"Anyway," Naruto was startled by Obito suddenly speaking, and turned around at him, watching the raven haired man take a deep breath. "I need your help… I really need it, you know".

"My… help?" despite the situation, Naruto was vaguely intrigued.

He was happy that Obito was not treating him like a china doll, ready to break down any moment, crying like a baby; somehow, Obito understood his pain but also that he was not going to break down like this… he would not cry for Sakura ever again. He had promised this to himself, and he would never go back on his word.

He did not need people pitying him. He was strong enough.

Bouncing forwards and turning around, so he was walking backwards in front of Obito -turning around every two seconds in order to avoid any obstacle- Naruto grinned, his spirits lifted.

"Ne, ne, how can I help you?" he asked, looking Obito straight in his dark eyes.

"I need your advice about a gift for… for Kakashi." Obito grinned back, his eyes sparkling.

Naruto smirked, his own eyes lighting with mischief.

"I know exactly what he would want to have, and I know how to get it!" Naruto whispered almost conspirator–like.

He skipped ahead, grinning. "Here we go!" he yelled, punching his fist in the air, running happily.

Obito followed happily; he knew he had chosen well when he decided to ask Naruto for help, instead of speaking for hours about Sakura, their crashed wedding, and what the blond would be doing from now on. That would have been not just counterproductive, but useless. Naruto was strong, and he did not need pity.

He just needed a friend.

"There!" Naruto stopped in front of a soft blue and black shop, motioning Obito to follow him as he pushed the heavy door, producing a loud chiming that echoed through the shop.

"Irasshaimase(3)!" a young woman said, bowing deeply at them, her short black hair falling in front of her eyes like a curtain.

Lifting her head up, dark eyes lit up seeing who the new customers were "Naruto?!" her polite smile turned into a warmer one "please, come here!"

She was at his side in a moment, almost fussing over him as she checked him up and down. Naruto scratched his nose, blushing a bit at the attention.

"You look fine" she started, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Did you drink?!"

"Hey, Shizune nee–chan…" the blond exclaimed, embarrassed.

"I'll go call Tsunade–sama," Shizune sighed, shaking her head.

Naruto grinned.

"I don't need to see Tsunade baa–chan, it's Jiraiya the one I came to see… I need something from him…"

Shizune's eyes narrowed even more in anger, communicating a clear message._'You'd better not be turning into a pervert'_.

"For a gift!" Naruto added quickly, waving his arms in front of him.

Obito shifted a bit, unsure on how to react to that scene, and Shizune looked over Naruto's shoulder, staring at the unknown man.

"Is it for… _this_ friend?" she asked, not quite believing that the dark haired man with the warm eyes could be a pervert.

Naruto smiled sheepishly, nervously rubbing the back of his head as he turned a bit. "Shizune nee–chan, this is Obito–san" he said, waving his arm in the man's direction.

Obito nodded gracefully, Shizune bowed a bit.

"Obito–san, this is Shizune nee–chan."

……………………………

**To be continue**

……………………………

**(1)** Tôkyô TV: I am sure every one know that it is the famous channel that products loads of anime for our greastest pleasure! Nihon Keizai Shimbun is the media corparation owning it. The adress used is the adress of the headquarter of Tôkyô TV. But I am reminding you this is a fiction! I may use things, write about things that does not exist in reality. This said: TV Tôkyô is absolutely not a creation of mine!

**(2)**Anata in this context means Darling.

**(3)** Irasshyaimase: Welcome

**  
……………………………**

**Note from co–author:** review, review, review, review… you know you want to…


	7. Chapter 6

Hello!

Happy New Year 2009!!

Sorry for the long wait (due to personal problems which I'm sorry I can't do anything about and author block and laziness two very difficult illness to get ride of)

**SOY** co-authored this chapter! (especially the last part)

It is 'raw' i.e. It is not beta-ed! So don't go all 'your grammar sucks'.

Now

**…………………………… ****This signals a change a scene/chara focus **

The César of the most Stubborn reviewer goes to **ProudSakuraHater**.

Thanks to all the numerous and nice reviewers: **Petileo; Slate Grey; lovewritermaiko; Ore no Naruto;**** Infinity Ryen; LadyHokageTsunade** (sorry but her fall will take sometime)**; ****NiChee; ****shyalchemist; quaero lumen; ****PirateCaptainBo; Fantasy or Reality; ****Artistic18; DarkRavie; lildevil425; ****fading mist** (more questions with no answer for you :p)**; ddd **(No killing her, I need someone to torture)**; sanzo; Kags21; ****creepy crab; Freak'net-returns; rozengrass; NoNameNeeded; ****moonstruckwolf; yet-another-Gaara-fangirl; ****Charlie **(normally there will be no physical harm done to her)**; escape5; txgirl123; ****Kitty Meow; ProudSakuraHater **(X2)**; ****sanhedrin; snowyangel-13; sympatheticassassin; shadowphoenix143; ****Eternal_Reverie; ****azaneti****; AkAtSuKi-SaKuRa-ChAn; Goddyss; Love Psycho; LynLin; ****GasunKugi; goldchild; darkdancer; slyswn28; ****Bella216; mickey8701; ****RetardedMe; flimsysky; ****turquoise-kitsune; babycobweb; ****Thista; cutsycat; Xstarlight-dragonX; ****only4you; ****Sweet Smiles.**

Thanks to all those who put this story on Alert too. ^^

Up to the story now

**……………………………**

**Long Vacation**

**……………………………**

**Chapter 6:**

**……………………………  
**

Sakura woke up with a start, gasping out as she felt water enter her mouth; she had fallen asleep whilst taking a hot bath and now the cold water rippled around her frame, chilling her skin and making her shiver.

She had been daydreaming as her usual, planning out the different ways she and her dream–man would live together happily ever after, and had dozed out in the middle of what had turned to be a sensual game which had, in the in–between being awake and asleep, included Sasuke courting her dressed as Romeo, with the most expensive and beautiful White Queen Roses and tons of jewelry, Naruto buying her the Leiber's Precious Rose Clutch purse (0) to congratulate her about her engagement with a man he could only recognize as being _so_ better than him, and her standing in a sexy pink nightgown on her honeymoon night with a very wet and half naked Sasuke.

Shivering she slowly stood up in the bathtub, grabbing the fluffy, dark pink towel that was hanging at the tub's side, and energetically dried herself up, grimacing at the thought of all the bad effects cold water could cause to her pristine body.

The pink haired young woman shivered again despite her now dry skin –the bathroom was really cold, and for a moment she regretted turning the A/C on. She should have shut it down, but alas, there was nothing she could do now.

Scanning the room for some underwear, Sakura's eyes caught sight of her small, silver watch positioned neatly on the counter, dial in her direction.

It read 11:05.

Well, way to go –she had not meant to take so much time for her bath… glancing down in horror, she gasped at the sight of her wrinkled skin. Damn it! She would need skin–care as soon as possible!

Maybe she would get an appointment to that woman –a client had given her the number of a person who was said to be miraculously good with that.

Speaking about appointments… she frowned, she knew she was probably forgetting something, something _important_… biting the inside of her cheek, Sakura pouted, trying to remember as she wriggled around still naked.

Realization hit her, and she paled.

Her jaw muscles went lax and the towel she was holding fell on the floor, forgotten; of course! She had to be at Minato–ku at midday! But there wasn't enough time to properly prepare herself for that!

Quickly, she ran out of the bathroom and into her room, grabbing the clothes she had thrown off the day before –there was no time to compose a new outfit for today, and she would have to go with the same outfit from the shopping spree of the previous day.

Sighing, she knew there could have been enough time to at least tidy up her clothes and place them neatly in the closets and drawers, but she had been so excited at the prospect of meeting her soon–to–be-husband soul mate, that nothing else had mattered except look perfect for him.

Moving back to the bathroom, flinging her cosmetics case open, Sakura started applying her make–up with quick, expert moves: first she rubbed a pale, liquid foundation on her face, careful to not forget her neck, and even smearing some on her ears, then she took out a large brush and applied some peach–coloured blush to heighten and refine her cheeks; then, she added some silver cream eye shadow over her eyes, that she underlined with a thin streak of blue–ish crayon.

Checking herself in the mirror to make sure she had not smudged anything where it wasn't supposed to be, she then brushed her eyelashes with black mascara, and as a final touch, she applied a touch of clear rose–coloured gloss on her thin lips, biting them to make them seem bigger and redder.

Staring at the result of her work in the mirror again, she refined the blush with her fingertips, smirking in appreciation of her own beauty in satisfaction.

Her smirk faded, substituted by a frown –something was off. But what?

Sakura moved closer to the mirror, examining her features carefully, brushing her hair back in a ponytail and adding a decorative japaned black headband with tiny silver butterflies painted on its surface, allowing a strand of hair to loosen down to accentuate the oval of her face.

'_What's missing?'_ she wondered, brushing back the strand so it followed the curve of her cheek. Then, she realised what she'd missed _'My lens!'_

Yeah, that was what had bothered her!

She scolded herself for forgetting about them.

A quick glance at her watch –11:45.

She had been fairly quick, but now she had no time to spare to get her lenses; the pink lover blinked, not liking to be parted from them and yet, she had no choice. She threw her head back, and gently approaching her eyes with her fingertips, she took away the offending flexible lens, feeling the familiar warmth of the skin grazing her orb.

Blinking rapidly to prevent any tears from spilling and ruining her make-up, Sakura sighed and glanced at herself in the mirror, pouting childishly as dark, common eyes stared back at her. She was not satisfied. Not that her natural eye–colour clashed with her makeup, but her Japanese, typical black eyes were just plainly boring… nothing like her!

She sighed –she had no time to dwell on this. She grabbed her watch, and making sure her photo book was in her cosmetics case, she shut it close. Taking out her brand new black laced platform shoes the young woman tried awkwardly to put them on whilst she searched for her keys on the console.

Finally spotting them, Sakura grabbed them and shoved them inside her purse as she swept out of the apartment, slamming the door close behind her back.

**……………………………**

Itachi's fingers danced on the small keyboard expertly, not missing a beat, without even looking down at it, his eyes riveted on the screen, keeping all of his attention. He had spent an hour reinitializing his darned internet connection, as apparently, there had been some kind of conflict with his flatmate's wireless one, which –as his Windows decided– could only be handled and solved by erasing internet programs from the laptop.

All of this took place in the one moment Itachi had turned his back to the computer to prepare some tea for himself, and meanwhile the system had already restarted itself to conclude the operation successfully.

In the end though, the dark haired man had managed out to solve the conflict between the two connection and was testing it out, careful for any relapse; he was finally able to connect to the net and was now opening his mail service to check for mails.

A small smirk formed on his face –for once, Kisame had done what he had asked for without questions… there was indeed quite a bit of information on the blond haired man, and Itachi nodded in satisfaction, uploading the attached files' folders to read them.

Narrowing his eyes impatiently, Itachi waited for the pages to load; contrarily to popular belief, he was anything but a patient man, and everybody that knew him, such as Kisame, could easily attest for it.

He opened the first file, labelled 'childhood', with a raised eyebrow; for Kisame to have such an amount of information on the blond man's past to fit an entire folder, there could only be three possibilities:

- First choice, the guy was a delinquent.

- Second, he was either an orphan or had been abandoned as a child.

- Third… a mix of both first and second option.

As the files finally opened, Itachi quickly scanned them, narrowing his eyes to read the small kanji on the screen, pinpointing exactly the information he was seeking at first glance. Indeed, the blond was an 'orphan'!

Smirking, though not at the fact that his flatmate was an 'orphan', but at his intuition being right, Itachi scrolled down, barely sparing a glance at the picture on top, which depicted an eleven–ish years old boy with bright eyes that was showing his tongue at the camera, pulling a scorning face at whoever had taken the shot.

The basic information sheet was concise and to the point.

"_File number:_ Y–1984–B–9766–A–12101986. _Family Name:_ UZUMAKI. _Name:_ Naruto. Scribbled next to it, a note about his middle name being Minato. _Biological mother's name:_ UZUMAKI. _Biological mother's first name:_ Kushina" Itachi whispered to himself, as if words could be clearer than just reading it. He slowly lifted one eyebrow.

"_Biological father's name:_ unknown; _Biological father's first name:_ unknown" despite the situation, he allowed another smirk to grace his face. This was turning to be pretty interesting, all included. He did not mean to be too nosy about Naruto's background, or to mock at it, but he was a lawyer, and he needed to know whether the person he was now living with had a shady background. His analytical mind had demanded the information for later use.

The rest of the information included some uninteresting parts, such as his hair colour, eyes colour, height, weight, rest–centres, which Itachi had no curiosity for.

Interesting: apparently, Naruto's whiskers were inflicted when he was merely a toddler, but there was no further mention of the incident, but Itachi could easily link the hints together.

"Ah… there it is… _Adopted:_ 01/18/1995" Itachi read aloud again. "_Adopter:_ UMINO Iruka, age 23. _Occupation of Adopter:_ teacher. _Special mentions:_ mother relinquished any parental rights on 01/16/1995".

It did not say much about the man and who he was, but it stated that the adoption procedure took a bit more than a year and a half to be pulled off; the investigation on the young man's background and references was short and clean. Nothing was out of the ordinary, apart from the fact that he was single and very young… it was rather difficult, even though they were in the era of progress, for a single person to adopt a child, let alone a man… at that time it must have been twice as hard.

That let Itachi wonder just how that apparently simple teacher had managed it.

Moving down to the rest of the report, he saw there was only one visit from the social service officer, just after Naruto found himself in yet another incident; it had been marked down as a bike accident but apparently the doctors in charge of the teen's case had not believed the young boy's version and had asked the social services for an inspection.

Nothing had come out of it, though.

Itachi sighed, taking a sip of his green tea, that was quickly cooling down. He closed the file and opened the next, labelled 'schooling'. Once another smirk made its way on his lips –Kisame could be remarkably efficient, if one were to ignore his constant babbling.

**……………………………**

Sakura stepped out of the subway. Tôkyô's subway truly was one of the most comfortable ones! She had taken a seat next to the window to be able to quickly exit at her stop, and of course, as usual, the train had been perfectly on time.

She had once heard that in other nations trains were often late, and this was one of the things she liked the most of Japan –a slight lateness equalled losing your work… a perfect example of how things worked out.

Looking around and checking the time, she noticed it would soon be noon, and the station was nearly empty; her eyes landed on the only other woman in the station, and could not look away.

A… Geiko (1)?

Sakura smiled, remembering a time when she had been really young, she had been in Maruyama–koen (2), watching the Geisha walking elegantly down the alley, surrounded by beautiful cherry blossoms.

Sakura had gawked in awe, watching the beautiful show the women had put on, amazed by their grace and beauty.

The elegant–looking woman was bending over the passing cars, her Zôri (3) grazing the yellow line, and Sakura blinked, watching her. She truly looked regal. Her bira–bira Kanzaki (4) was hiding half of her face from view, but Sakura could see the reflection on the polished surface of the train as the Geiko expertly spread the charcoal lines which represented her eyebrows.

This was the symbol of supreme beauty and control of a person who knew what she wanted and had the pride to be above others, a person who did not concede themselves away, not even to their loved ones.

Sakura forced herself to look away, shaking her head –this was not the time to admire that woman, she had an appointment and she did not need to be late. Another glance at her wristwatch confirmed it was late enough… 11:45. She needed to run now.

Exiting the station by flashing her subscription at the control machines, Sakura looked around, quickly moving towards the tall building where her appointment was. She straightened, not wanting to look in a hurry, and entered through the door, making her way to the counter with as much dignity as she could muster, despite how much her feet hurt…

She had run all the way there from the station, and had then decided her platform shoes were not the best ones to run around with.

She tried to gain back some of her composure and breath, moistening her lips.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, I have an appointment with–"

"Saitô–san" the secretary finished for her, staring up at her from the computer screen. "Fourth floor, head left through the corridor. It's the first office on your left".

Sakura made her way to the elevators trying not to look too hurried whilst effectively being so, and fortunately enough one elevator just opened, letting out the crowd inside. She impatiently waited for them to be out before she jumped in, pushing repeatedly the button for the right floor.

Her watch flashed 11:55.

The pink–lover paced around in the small cabin nervously, trying to calm her racking nerves; she was not that good at handling stress, and that was why she had not gone to university –or at least, that was what she told her parents.

The elevator finally pinged and she stepped outside, immediately turning left.

"Ah, Haruno–san!" a small, sturdy man called out from one of the booths on her left, waving for her to come closer. "I was waiting for you!"

Sakura offered a smile to the man as she approached him, straightening up again. He was wearing the nap of a dark blue suit which did absolutely _not_ fit him, the cuffs a bit too long and covering his hands. He was playing nervously with the small golden band on his puffy finger, clear sign he was not as self confident as he wanted to look.

As Sakura entered, he took a step back, smiling at her.

"Good morning, Saitô–san" she greeted him politely, tilting her head a bit.

"You are…" the man glanced at his watch "two minutes early! That's a good thing! I like people who are punctual… take a seat, please" he offered, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

Sakura lowered her make-up case carefully, then sat down straightening her back, smiling sweetly at the man and folding her hands neatly in her lap.

'_Ready to conquer.'_ she thought, her inner self smirking at her 'prey' as he took a file out from a desk drawer.

"Your curriculum is… impressive..." he admitted, looking quickly through the folder. "But…"

Sakura steeled herself, knowing there was a _but_; there was always a _but_, and yet she was good at calming the worries of her future employer.

The man continued passing through the pages of her CV, "but you have no diploma, and of course–"

"If I may…" Sakura allowed her smile to turn a bit warmer as she bent down, scooping up her book from the make-up case. "… you should look at my work… closely before taking a decision".

She held out the book to the man, who took it. The cover was her first work, back when she was still in high school, during the last spring festival before graduation time; it was a before/after picture of Naruto's face, with one side showing Naruto with his usual, wide grin and shining blue eyes, whisker marks standing out from his tan skin, the other had a grimacing Naruto, face painted red and white to resemble a demon's.

She remembered just how hard it had been to keep Naruto still for the hour it took her to finish her design, but the result had been worth it… all day long, people came to compliment her about it: teachers, peers and even parents, and she had basked in their attention, whilst keeping a bashful, shy smile on her lips.

"My most recent works are in there..." she added, as Saitô opened the first page.

The man nodded, looking through the pages and making surprised murmurs at the quality of the work.

Sakura knew he only needed one last push, and she had the right ace. "I also worked for the Uchiha's company, for their last advertising campaign." she stated with a superior smirk.

That was all that was needed to be said. By the glint in the man's eyes, she knew she would be chosen for that job.

**……………………………**

Higashi entered the building with a determined strike, eyes dark and serious.

"Haruno–san" the secretary of the corporation said, standing up quickly and bowing. "Hatake–san is waiting for you in his office."

She then proceeded to show him towards the back of the room, leading Higashi through the maze of corridors that led to Kakashi's office. She knocked discreetly on the wooden door, waiting for an answer.

At a grunt coming from inside, she smiled.

"Hatake–san?" she began, in a small, slender voice. "Haruno–san is here".

"Come in" Kakashi's voice replied from inside, filtering through the door.

The secretary opened the door slowly, bowing to her boss and motioning for Higashi to enter. He took the cue and after a last glance at the woman, he did so, feeling her close the door at his back.

"Haruno–san, it's a pleasure to see you again." Kakashi greeted, extending his hand.

Higashi shook it before being offered a seat on the black leathered armchair.

"What can I do for you today, Haruno–san?" Kakashi asked in his most professional voice, sitting back down behind his desk.

"I need… to wind up one of my accounts" Higashi stated calmly, the only sign of his troubled mood the constant drumming of his fingers on the edge of the desk.

Kakashi turned his face to the computer screen and started typing on the keyboard with his pointer fingers, only one touch at a time –one of his quirks that Higashi had come to know during the last few years.

"I'll need the account number, if you please" Kakashi asked, eye riveted on his computer.

"7 – 4 – 9 – 3 – 8 – 4 – 0 – 6 – 1 – 3 – 1 – 7" Sakura's father articulated slowly, waiting to hear the sound of the key being pushed before adding another number.

"There are still 1.576.700￥ (5) on this account, do you still want to proceed?" Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. "The golden card is still active… it has been last used yesterday..." he informed his client. "in… Tôkyô?"

Higashi's head snapped up, stopping his nervous rapping –the count had money taken from it? She would not have dared stealing money from him, would she? His daughter was not that kind of person!

He knew her, they had raised her to be better than that, giving her everything a little girl could want, or need, and even more… and yet…

He would have never thought her capable of humiliating him either, and yet she did it, by refusing to show up at her own marriage, and instead going off to Tôkyô, without even a note for them, her parents.

What did they do wrong?

"Was your card stolen?" Kakashi asked him, one eyebrow lifted upwards and a vague trace of concern in his tone, scrolling down the history of the account and shifting the computer screen a bit so Haruno could see it.

Higashi read the list slowly, eyes narrowing the more he looked at the bright screen in front of his eyes.

25 000￥ (6) at 'Intimate Garden' (7), 10:25 am, date 07/23/2007

300 825￥ (8) at 'Issey Miyake' (9), 11:01 am, date 07/23/2007.

Issey Miyake? This was his daughter's favourite shop, he remembered.

610,890￥ (10) at 'Axis Building' (11), 01:35 pm, date 07/23/2007

20,000￥ (12) at 'Coucagno' (13), 02:56 pm, date 07/23/2007

Higashi let a small smile grace his lips, as he remembered their first time at that French restaurant, that dominated most of Shibuya–ku from the 40th floor of the Cerulean Tower. The sight was, of course, breathtaking.

Little Sakura, then eight years old, had run to the bay–window, looking down at the city spreading under her with big, amazed eyes. In one of her fantasies, she had pointed at the small 'ants' and proclaimed them her ever–loyal workers, doing everything for their princess, and she had laughed in delight, dancing everywhere until she had crumbled on the floor, dizzy, under the amused and warm stares of the other clients.

But now was not the time for fond recollections of the past. Higashi scolded himself, focusing once again on the apparently endless list; jewellery, beauty centre, fancy leather shops… no doubt that his daughter had one of her shopping sprees the previous day, merrily spending the money he had reserved for her marriage.

Higashi closed his eyes in dismay. That was it, he thought to himself. He could no longer deny it –his daughter had really eloped to Tôkyô, just like her short letter to her blond ex–fiancé had explained. He could not help but wonder, once again, what had he done wrong.

Was it his fault for going on work trips too often, depriving Sakura of a father figure for too long? Had he been too lenient on her? Should he had enforced more discipline, risking to shelter her a bit too much?

He had wanted his child to be outgoing, friendly, a child who would not fear to go all out and realize their dreams… someone worth to be respected.

Where had he been wrong?

"...Because if it really was stolen, I can explain you exactly what to do..." Kakashi continued, cutting through Higashi's train of thoughts. "I will cancel the card and warn the police, and you will, of course, be refunded once the alert has been given out…"

"No!" Higashi answered, a bit more forcefully than he would have liked.

The man's eyes locked with the only visible one of his banker, who was looking at him in vague confusion.

"No," he repeated, calming down.

The man across him tilted his head on the right, curiosity taking place of the confusion and worry, hands crossed a bit over his mouth, hiding a clear interested smirk.

"It's… it's my daughter's doing" Higashi explained reluctantly. "There is absolutely no need for refunding, and even less to call the police".

Higashi stole a quick glance at the bottom of the screen, staring at the total sum left on the account. 1.576.700￥, he reminded himself. Quite a hefty sum of money… but would it be enough for his daughter to survive in the city? She already spent so much in only one day… would it be enough for however long she planned to stay there?

Higashi frowned –no, he could not continue to dot on Sakura like that. she had already made her choice, not even bothering to warn him or at least her mother about it… and the time to keep fooling himself was long gone; she had always evaded any backlash thanks to him and her mother's discreet interventions, but that would not happen again.

She had made her choice –and broke his heart… and he would steel his resolve and stop funding her follies.

Those one and a half million yen would be the last money she received from him until she came around, accepted her own idiocies and come back home on her knees.

'She had left to live on her own... Good...' Higashi tried to persuade himself.

Higashi let out a small sigh and breathed deeply, focusing again on the reason of his visit. He would not cancel that account anymore, but he would let it disappear from his memory and not look at it anymore. Distancing himself from Sakura, at least for the moment.

"I want to create a new account" he stated instead, in a business–like voice, slamming both of his hands on the desk.

**……………………………**

Naruto stood in front of his apartment, arms full with boxes, trying in vain to apply enough pressure with his elbow to open the door, but to no avail, as it remained stubbornly closed.

The blond man pouted, not wanting to place what he was carrying down –it took him a lot to climb up the stairs over and over a hundredth of times to get all the boxes in front of his apartment, and the ones he was holding were quite heavy… if he were to put them down, he did not know if he would be able to pick them back up.

Why did he have to get all those things anyway?

They were filled with the gifts all the guests had sent him for his marriage –his _failed_ marriage. Naruto had been sure they would want their gifts back, but Tsunade had quickly explained him that tradition wanted the wronged part of a failed marriage to keep the gifts, pressing him to get the presents out of her store.

At the beginning he had not been too upset, as he still missed some important pieces of equipment for the apartment –such as a kettle, table sets, and one or two pans would not be bad either– but when he had found out that the gifts had filled up the entire 'emergency storage room' of Tsunade's -aka her alcohol cache- he had turned a bit… disconcerted.

Fortunately for him, Obito had been with him and had proposed to lend him one of his society's cars. And that was how he found himself outside of his stupid flat, trying to open that damned door.

Naruto whined helplessly, feeling frustration mount inside him, and gave a sharp hit on the doorknob; unfortunately for his elbow, he managed to hit right on his tendon. Naruto let out a cry of pain, losing his balance and finally pushing the door open, stumbling inside.

The boxes toppled over him and crashed loudly on the floor; Naruto shut his eyes close and tried to curl on himself to avoid the worst of his fall, but no colliding on the ground happened. After around a minute, he shyly opened one cerulean eye and quickly closed it, then blinked both his eyes open.

'_Black?'_

He blinked again, feeling hands gripping at his arms, helping him keep his balance.

'… _hands?'_

He looked up, meeting strangely red–tainted eyes. He was mesmerized by those eyes, not moving, not even an eyelash, then he suddenly understood the situation he was in, and trashed out of shock, slipping out of the person's grip and falling backwards.

"ARGH!" Naruto flayed, as his ass harshly hit the floor.

After One hour of opening numerous boxes, Naruto find himself with an aching back, he sighed raising from his sitting position. He closed his eyes, he had finally recovered from his surprise and shock at finding Itachi holding him up, even though his ego would probably not heal up at the newer proclamation of his clumsiness, but he could live with it.

After all, this was the man who had seen him drunk off his ass, who had listened to his depressed mumblings about his ex-f… _her_, who had brought him home and decided to actually live with him…

Yeah, well. He was insane enough to be able to ignore Naruto's clumsiness, and Naruto would take this for granted and not feel too ashamed.

Itachi had not said anything, simply staring down at him with a lifted eyebrow, then at the boxes Naruto had been holding until a second before, wordlessly curious but not willing to even ask.

"Er… the… wedding gifts" Naruto had meekly stated, picking himself and the boxes up in a desperate attempt to ignore the shamed flush on his cheeks. "Apparently, tradition demands me to keep them and I was forced to take them home and, well, you see, the door… and…"

Itachi had once again kept silent, but had taken one of the boxes from Naruto's hands, placing them neatly on the next available surface in the kitchen; the blond knew the older man had interrupted his work to help him out, and he had been overly grateful, especially when Itachi had followed him out of the door to help him with the rest of the packages.

Then he had left him there to go back to his work and Naruto had spent around one hour emptying the boxes and putting away all the gifts, some leaving him baffled -"Tablecloths? Who would send me over tablecloths… they're branded too! Who would need _branded_ tablecloths?!"-, but some others were satisfying –Kiba, an old friend of his that now worked as a Zoo Guardian, had sent over a mixer in form of an Elephant foot for drinks, making Naruto chuckle in appreciation.

_That_ would never be returned, not even if Kiba came to demand it back.

Together with it had come a note, something along the lines of 'sorry, unable to come, but Hinata would not let me live it down if I were not to send you something good –I hope my gift helps you out with that banshee you took as a wife. Congratulations pal!'

Good Kiba, he would probably try to get the animals to chase _her_ down when he was told about what happened.

Finally done, Naruto had decided for a quick shower to take away the fatigue from his shoulders, and after a warning to Itachi -who had grunted in reply, absorbed by his laptop- he had entered the bathroom.

The water jet on his skin caused him to hiss in delight, enjoying the hot water on his back's muscles; those had been quite a few hectic days, he had to admit, and there was nothing better than a relaxing shower and a moment to think about it all.

Indeed, it felt like the wound caused by _her_ would never close, but at the same time he had to admit he did not quite think about it when sober –the only moment he had allowed himself to feel down was during that first night spent drinking his problems away.

And yet, that drunken night had brought a person in his house that was not his wife, and Naruto was still baffled at the situation between him and Itachi. The older man looked used to get what he wanted, but had appeared to be not that bad, and had actually somehow being a comforting figure, all considered.

It pained him to admit it, but things were not going to miraculously include _her_ anymore.

What good would it bring him to keep thinking and mulling it over? _She_ had abandoned him on the day of their marriage. The thought hurt as hell but… he could not keep on whining and refusing to think or say _her_ name.

_She_… would certainly not come back, _she_ was dead–set on someone else, and Naruto had already settled over with her parents, so even though it was still painful to think about it, he could not go drown himself in self–pity.

He would live on, and slowly, with time, the pain would finally fade; he knew it. There were all those couples breaking up, and they always looked like they would never be happy again… but they always did, in the end.

Naruto would be happy as well –it would only take some more time.

Until then, he had to go on as he could, but at least he was rational enough to know he would get out of this. Still, it was painful. Despite his tentative words to console himself, he still felt hurt, lonely and cheated. The pain would recede, yes Obito said so as well… but _when_? It hurt so much that not even his attempts at cheering up could give him complete reassurance.

Sighing, Naruto started rinsing his hair, feeling as if the weight he had on his chest had turned the slightest bit lighter.

**……………………………**

Itachi had decided he would not read any personal files on his new housemate as the mentioned person was back in the apartment, since there could be a chance that Naruto passing by noticed his name on some files and demanded explanation.

Itachi's interest, after all, was purely personal and would be clearly confused with something else, especially given how the two had met –the older man would need to not raise any suspicion, especially since it was mere curiosity that caused him to ask his associate Kisame to gather information, and not the desire to hurt or blackmail the blond man.

As it was, he had enough to mull over, and still much work to get done, and he could not get distracted by questions he had yet to get an answer for.

Naruto was gone in the bathroom for a quick shower, and Itachi busied himself with some contracts, checking terms to see if everything was in order –it looked like a half–a–day off had brought more added work to him than humanly possible.

"Hm…" he had barely read three lines, when the phone suddenly rang, shaking his concentration.

The dark haired man huffed, disgruntled by the interruption, but with his roommate in the shower, he was the only person that could answer the call. Standing up, he reached for the receiver and cleared his throat.

"Uchiha Itachi, how can I help you?" he stated clearly, business–like.

There was a pause on the other end, then a soft, careful voice spoke "ah… sorry, I think I might have composed the wrong number –gomen-nasai (14)."

Itachi lifted one eyebrow, but shrugged lightly and placed the receiver down again, turning back to his contracts and readying himself to go back to work–

The phone rang again.

Itachi sighed, feeling vaguely annoyed, and picked the receiver up again.

"Yes?" he asked, already lacking enough good mood to answer as he did a moment before. "Who is speaking?"

There was, once again, a moment of silence.

"Is… I'm sorry, but… is that the phone of Uzumaki Naruto?" the same voice from the previous call asked, uncertainty lacing the words.

Itachi tilted his head, realising the phone was technically still listed as Naruto's, and that he would soon need to rectify that. "Yes, this is Uzumaki Naruto's phone –who is speaking?"

"It's Naruto's… then who the hell _are_ you? Where _is_ Naruto?!" the agitated voice turned a bit panicked, and Itachi lifted his eyebrow a bit more. "I want to speak with Naruto! Did something happen? Is he ok? Where is _he?_!"

"As I previously stated, I am Uchiha Itachi," the dark haired man stressed out his name and looked in the direction of the bathroom, where he could hear the water still going. "I am sorry, Naruto–kun cannot answer the phone right now. He's taking a shower".

There was silence after his answer, and soon followed a loud noise, as if something had fallen hard on the ground. Itachi patiently waited, frowning, but there was no further answer and then the line was shut close.

Still with the receiver near his ear, Itachi blinked in surprise at the steady beeping coming from it, then slowly placed it down, wondering what all that ruckus was.

Shrugging slightly, as it was not his business -and Naruto would probably solve whatever problem it was with this… the man had not said his name… well, anyway, later-, Itachi went back to his chair and started looking over his contracts, satisfied when no phone call disturbed him anymore.

After a few minutes, the bathroom door opened up and a wet, half naked Naruto came out, scrubbing his hair hard with a towel, another one hanging around his hips. Itachi found himself observing with interest the wide portion of skin he was offered.

Naruto did indeed look fit and well–build -but not overly so-, and Itachi appraised the sight nodding to himself, his eyes roaming from the broad, tanned shoulders down to where the big towel was situated, hiding anything below the navel.

The blond man turned around, probably to check the temperature of the room -so that it would not be too low to his currently much naked state-, and Itachi had barely the time to notice something on the small of his back before Naruto turned around again.

"Ah~ I truly _needed_ that shower." Naruto stated in blissful contentment. "You should have one yourself… oh, right, Itachi, I thought I heard the phone ringing? Who was it?"

Itachi stopped his staring and looked up at the blue eyes of the man in front of him, noticing how they looked even deeper with his hair dripping wet and falling down. "The person calling did not identify themselves –but he asked of you, and then the call went off".

Naruto blinked in surprise and moved to the phone, pressing the buttons to the call memory, and frowned at the number.

"Why it this such a familiar number?" he muttered, scrunching up his face in thought.

It was strangely familiar, but he could not, for the life of it, recall the owner of it. He was not that good at remembering number sequences, but he was _sure_ he knew–

"Holy shit! It's Iruka!" he gasped, paling slightly.

Now he remembered –that was Iruka's house number! If he was calling surely there was some kind of problem, besides the man was a mother–hen… he would surely over–worry about Itachi's presence in the house, as Naruto had yet to warn him about his decision…

All in all, it did not sound like something good at all.

Picking up the receiver he quickly dialled the number, letting it sound once, twice… "come on Iruka, answer the phone!" he prayed, but the call kept on beeping softly, no answer from the other side.

Growling softly under his breath, and unknowingly offering Itachi a good show of his half–naked body, Naruto started pacing, dialling Iruka's cellphone's number and waiting for him to pick up.

"Yes?"

Naruto's face lit up. "Iruka! It's me, Naruto! What's hap–"

"_Naruto!_" Iruka's panicky voice interrupted his apprehensive questions. "I just called, who the hell was the person there?! He answered as if he _owns_ the place –and we all know it was _yours_ and… **But**! More importantly, you're still living there! Naruto, I don't know if it's such a good idea –it was a house you had to share with… _her_… and living there by yourself…"

"Iruka…" Naruto tried to stop Iruka's flooding words, but it looked impossible. Once the man started ranting, there was no way to block him.

"No, I mean it! I don't think you are _weak_ or anything, and you know that… but Naruto, you're going through a harsh period, with _her_… and what _she_ did…" Iruka's worried babbling turned steely for a moment, allowing Naruto to feel the anger his adoptive father was reserving for _her_, whose name he was skilfully evading.

Naruto had to chuckle. He was glad Iruka was so worried over him, but he knew he would pull out.

"Of _course_ it was not your fault! Everything _she_ did will only have the blame befall on _her_ –but Naruto, to live in that house… you shouldn't be still hung up on that… _woman_!"

"Iruka… please, let me talk–"

Itachi felt his lips twitch upwards in a vague amusement. He could hear the man's rambling from his position at the table, not as clearly as Naruto, but enough to know the man -someone close to Naruto, apparently- was ranting, and was doing it with all he had.

"You're a great person, Naruto, but what the hell are you thinking?" Iruka kept on. "I always knew there was something wrong with _her_, and look what _she_ did! Dropping you off like that –it shows how few _she_ knows. You're that wonderful person and it's _her_ loss if _she_ choses someone else!"

Naruto sighed, knowing he would not be able to stop that conversation any time soon.

"Why don't you come back home with me? I still have your room ready, and I would appreciate the company and–"

The doorbell suddenly rang, startling Naruto, who blinked and looked at Itachi, who shrugged –he was not waiting for anyone.

"Iruka, wait a second, I have to answer the door now..." Naruto hastily said, even though Iruka kept on talking on the other end, uncaring if Naruto was offering him his unwavering attention or not.

The blond man moved to the front door and unlocked it –only to come face to face with Iruka, who was still ranting at the phone. Blinking in utter shock –he had not been expecting _this_– Naruto moved out from the way, allowing his adoptive father to rush in.

Iruka snapped the cell phone shut, and addressing Naruto he kept on his ranting as if nothing was wrong –and to him, probably _nothing_ was indeed wrong.

"–I'm sure you would prefer to have someone with you anyway, living by yourself after what happened is certainly not good. I really miss you and besides that–"

"Good morning, you must be… Iruka–san, right?" Itachi had followed Naruto to the door and now nodded politely to the man, stopping his flow of words for a moment, amusement shining in the dark eyes, then he turned around; so this man was an acquaintance of Naruto, and a close one, by his actions.

"I planned to have a hot tea so the water is just boiling… I can prepare some for you as well."

Iruka nodded distractedly, keeping his eyes on Naruto. "Thank you..." he replied, smiling a bit. "So, Naruto, as I was saying, you living… all alone… in…" he stuttered, coming to a halt, the words refusing to come out from his mouth.

He blinked. Once, then twice. His mouth fell open.

Then, he stared at Naruto, taking in how he looked; half naked, the towel around his hips in dangers of falling due to all his pacing, hair still mildly wet, covered by a second and smaller towel…

Iruka blinked.

Slowly, terribly slowly, he turned around to look at the person who had spoken to him previously; the person who had answered the phone before. The person that had caused him to panic, mildly faint back at his house, and forced him to take his car and run the hell to Naruto's apartment.

A tall, good–looking man with long hair, that looked at home in what had to be Naruto and _her_ apartment; a man who slowly poured some tea and handed it to him.

Iruka shut his mouth close, nodding politely and proceeding to collapse on the floor.

"Who the _hell_ are you?!" he screeched when he regained consciousness a fex seconds later, pointing his finger accusingly at the man, who raised one eyebrow, still holding the cup of tea in his hands.

"Uchiha Itachi" he replied, tilting his head a bit. "I'm Naruto–kun's roommate. It's a pleasure to see you… Iruka–san".

Naruto could not stop himself –he started snickering, because despite the situation, Iruka's face was priceless. He was opening and closing his mouth with no coherence, eyes wide, vaguely pale, and Naruto knew he had probably misinterpreted the whole thing, and yet…

He laughed, hard.

Then he stopped when the same wide, nice chocolate eyes turned towards him, burning in anger. "_**Uzumaki Naruto! **_What is the meaning of this?! You'd better explain or I'll have your head for dinner!"

Naruto gulped down his uneasiness, fidgeting and not liking the fact that he felt vulnerable, and bare -literally- under Iruka's gaze.

"Er… first of all, Iruka, this is Itachi… he's… well, he will live here, with me" he finished, lamely. "He's a lawyer. Itachi, this is Iruka, my dad –even though he's more of a mother–hen than–" Iruka slapped him on the back of his head, stopping the introduction.

Itachi observed him closely.

He was mild–looking, with a small scar cutting through his nose, chocolate eyes and hair pulled up in a sort of strange high ponytail. So, this was Naruto's father… or at least, his adoptive father, the name was _Umino Iruka _if he recall correctly.

He looked a bit young to be allowed to adopt a son, and Itachi inwardly frowned; recalling the vague information on the profile Kisame sent, Iruka was single, so it should have been twice as hard for him to file the necessary papers…

"How did _this_ happen?" Iruka sighed, shocked that Naruto could get the first person around to share his apartment with, but unable to keep freaking out in presence of another person. "I mean, how did you two meet? Did you put an announcement on a newspaper?"

Naruto looked up at Itachi, who shared with him an amused stare, but simply shrugged, deciding it would be against his best interest to tell his adoptive father the truth –the man would freak out twice as much if he were to know just _how_ Itachi had entered the apartment.

Iruka sighed, shaking his head "No matter this –Naruto, are you sure it's ok to stay here? After all, this apartment belongs to the Haruno and…"

Naruto grabbed Iruka's shoulder, staring in the eyes of the brown haired man with a determined expression.

"Dad… I have no other place to go –and no, I don't want to come back living with you… it would not be right, and I need to feel independent once again… I need to know that I don't need to go crying back into my father's arms to be ok –that I can do it by myself" Naruto shook his head slowly.

During this conversation, Itachi's attention was drawn to a dark inked, spiralling tattoo that was clearly curling on the small back of the younger man's, some unreadable kanji written in the old way stemming around the spiral. It looked like it was coming out of Naruto's skin, not just drawn on it.

He had failed to see the tattoo when he had helped Naruto undress, back that night when they met at the sake–ya, but that was because Naruto had never turned his undressed back on him at the time.

Itachi felt the irrational need to check if the tattoo felt as smooth as the skin around it, or was instead coarse, and before he could stop himself, he had already reached out with his hand, running a finger over the spiral shape.

It felt smooth to his touch, far smoother than it looked, blending in the skin in a somewhat enticing way.

Naruto, who had been in the middle of a heated and determined speech to convince Iruka that he was perfectly fine -even though he was not- and that he already settled things out with the Haruno -even though he had the feeling Higashi and his wife still had a somewhat grudge on him- was utterly shocked when he suddenly felt a finger brush against the skin of his lower back, where his tattoo was.

He was very ticklish and the skin had been sensible on that spot even before getting the tattoo there -a drunken mistake on his part after much whining by… _her_… to get one: "It so Manly" _she_ had claimed- and that cool hand touching him there sent a shiver through his back, making him pause in his ranting, goose bumps covering his arms.

Thankfully for him, Iruka had momentarily turned around to check the apartment, and did not see Itachi's definitely strange action, nor Naruto's reaction to it.

As for the dark haired man, he realized that he had indeed acted upon a sudden impulse and backed away, mildly surprised but otherwise satisfied by both the tattoo's smoothness and Naruto's response to his touch.

The blond turned around in a flash, eyes wide, and shared a perplexed and vaguely uncertain look with Itachi; he did not know the reason for Itachi's sudden touchiness, nor why he did not feel offended that the older man had invaded his private space without asking first.

Still he had no time to wonder over that, as Iruka tugged at his arm, demanding more information on the apartment, his talk with Higashi–san and what he would do from then on, and Naruto reverted his attention to him, momentarily forgetting about Itachi's strange actions.

**……………………………**

**To be continued**

**……………………………**

0) Leiber's Precious Rose Clutch purse is a real purse from a real brand and I do not own nor the brand nor the purse

1) Geiko: Full-fledge Geisha in Kyôto's dialect.

2) Maruyama-koen: Maruyama Park in Kyôto. Don't own it! It truly exists.

3) Zôri: flat and thonged Japanese sandals made of rice straw or other plant fibres, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or synthetic materials.

4) Bira bira -also called Fluttering or Dangling style- Kanzaki: these are composed of metal strips attached by rings to the body of the ornament so that they move independently or long chains of silk flowers.

5) 1.576.700￥: $17.554 USD soit 13.351 € (on January the 15th 2009 changing rate)

6) 25.000￥: $278 USD soit 212 € (on January the 15th 2009 changing rate)

7) Intimate Garden (Roppongi Hills Hollywood Plaza B1, 6-4-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku.) Is a real shop lingerie shop in Tôkyô I absolutely don't own it.

8) 300.825￥: $3.351 USD soit 2.548 € (on January the 15th 2009 changing rate)

9) Issey Miyake (3-18-11 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku) Is a real shop of Designed Clothing (Designer Issey Miyake) in Tôkyô I do not own it either.

10) 610.890￥: $6.801 USD soit 5.175 € (on January the 15th 2009 changing rate)

11) Axis Building (5-17-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku) Is once again a real shop and I do not own it.

12) 20.000￥: $223 USD soit 170 € (on January the 15th 2009 changing rate)

13) Coucagno (26-1 Sakuragaokachō, Shibuya-ku) is a real French restaurant in Tôkyô and I don't own it.

14) Gomen nasai – I'm very sorry. Polite version of the simple gomen.

Read And Review.


	8. Chapter 7

Hello Every one!

This Story is still not beta-ed and still co-authored with StarsOfYaoi.

**INFORMATION:** An ItaNaru fanfics contest named INCA will be held soon. If you want to propose a story or have more information please visit my profile or SOY's. (NB: this story can't be nominated.)

…………………………… = change of Point Of View.

**I wanted to say something to all my dear dear reviewers:** Each review is a Praise for me. And I appreciate and take the time to answer each of them regardless of how short or how seemingly meaningless they look. They carry more than they show.

**Co–author Note**: I also read the reviews you send to Yum2 and I'm thankful! XD isn't she doing an awesome work?

**Thanks to all of you reviewers:** **Petileo; nlblake; Green-Lemon; itachisgurl93; eTerNaLzAnzI98; LynLin; Heather; butterfly1974; KyokaraMaohfan; Bella216; rion; demon'sLOver; cutsycat; JigokuShoujosRevenge; DarkRavie; sympatheticassassin; kaesaku; Ore no Naruto; Phamalama; shadowphoenix143; JsinuYasha; enchanted nightingale; animelover** (sorry for my heavy narrative but if I don't put it I feel like I'm rushing and missing something)**; GothAngel18; KitsuneNaru; Sabaku no -X-Temari-X-; Shadow; Kags21; hanakisa; demoneyeskyoko; UchihaObsession; A.C.Y.P. (X2); Rita** (I know that Arbeit is the German word and that normally you spell it Arubaito in Japanese but It's more understandable in the German spelling since the Japanese word comes from the German. You guessed right ;D)**; tea; deidei; -Nightly Halo-; tati1; Japaneseprincess11; Yah-Oh-Ee; Calmest Card.**

Up to the story! (Long chapter It should make you all happy)

……………………………

**Long Vacation**

……………………………

**Chapter 7**

……………………………

Naruto shifted in his bed, opening one eye and looking around his room, now pink–hued.

"Not morning already..." He half mumbled, half groaned, closing his eye again, and pushing his head under the pillow.

Slowly, he breathed in and out, listening to the silence around him.

Then, he sighed.

"Morning." He concluded, suddenly pushing the pillow away and sitting up on the bed, stretching and yawning wildly.

Waking up and leaving his bed was turning into a real state's affair, every morning. He wished he could sleep in at least once, but his inner–clock did not agree with that, forcing him to stand up every morning without fail at ungodly hours. He silently cursed his past as a newspaper delivery guy.

Blue eyes scanned his surroundings, taking in how untidy the room was -but just a bit- with his clothes laying around in messy piles, some documents covering all his desk, and small details that he did not even like to look at –such as layers of dust on his furniture and a sock peering at him from underneath his bed.

Maybe he should start keeping his new year's resolution this time, especially since he was living with another person now. He had a feeling that his roommate would not appreciate to live in a messy place.

He quickly gathered some clothes together, examining them briefly to see if they were clean: his daily orange piece would consist in a tie for the day, whereas the previous day it had been socks.

Since he had to 'dress up' for work, as the image he gave to his clients was important stuff, Naruto had decided to renounce to his usual, all–orange style for something more sober... which was done with a lot of regret and depression, of course.

He had tried to bargain with Kakashi about it, pointing out that the older man wore a mask every day, and how that could not be counted as professional attire. But Kakashi had countered by stating that, mask or not, he still looked serious, whilst an orange suit would never give off a professional vibe apart from the profesional vibe of a clown. This last remark had Naruto pouting for the rest of the day.

Nevertheless, Naruto had not been able to admit defeat. So the next day, he had entered the office with a brand new, neon orange tie.

Kakashi had not said a word to him about it, so Naruto had guessed it could be tolerated as long as the colour was not 'too much'.

After a quick stop at the bathroom to relieve himself, wash his face and teeth and cleanse a bit, Naruto stepped into the kitchen.

Now, for his morning ritual!

His body moved on his own, so used to this he could do it with his eyes closed. He put some water on the stove for the tea -totally forgetting about his brand new electrical kettle sitting in the corner next to the stove-, and settled down to prepare the fishes.

He noted that there was still some rice from the previous day's dinner in the rice–cooker, so he would not need to make any more.

And of course, how could he forget his music?

Turning the radio on, the blond man slid from one side of the kitchen to the other. Never missing a beat as he danced around, preparing his typical Japanese breakfast.

His pace faltered slightly as he wondered briefly if his roommate was the breakfast type, then shrugged.

Better to be safe than sorry. He would make enough for two, and if Itachi did not want to eat it, well… he would.

The frying pan ready, he put the fishes into it, then stirred the miso(1) soup and threw in some seaweeds and vegetables to give it more taste. As he did so, he scooped the rice out of the cooker and put it in two bowls.

Meanwhile, he went to the cupboard and retrieved a jar of umeboshi(2) and pickles, which he prepared in their own small cups.

Singing to the tune of the radio, Naruto poured the hot water into the teapot with the green tea blend, stiring it a bit and allowing the steamy liquid to absorb the bitter properties of the tea leaves.

Even though Naruto had a strong sweet tooth and disliked bitter food, green tea was an exception. He was always glad to drink his fill, be it cold or hot.

He was so into it that he almost jumped out of his skin when spinning around, he found Itachi watching him intently.

"uh… br–breakfast?" He offered, trying to gather his wits back together.

"If you please." Itachi answered, with a small, mostly undetected, smirk.

Naruto grinned happily as he placed down on the table the bowls of rice, the bowls filled with miso soup, the plates with the grilled fishes, the cups of green tea and the pickles and umeboshi.

Finally, he poured two cups of the green tea and offered one to the dark haired man, who nodded in thanks and helped out by picking up two pairs of chopsticks, noticing how Naruto used slightly shorter ones than he did. The thought made him inwardly smirk.

"Orange tie?" Itachi asked, raising one eyebrow at the bright piece of clothing standing out on the more subdued shirt.

"My favourite colour, of course!" Naruto answered proudly, showing off his silk tie –a gift from Tsunade and Iruka for his first day of work at the bank.

Itachi's smirk returned at the display of childishness of his roommate, but remained silent.

"I hope you won't mind me reading the newspaper during breakfast." Naruto stated after taking a bite of his rice fetching the newspaper.

It was an international newspaper in English that he had taken the habit of reading every morning, for the sole purpose of bettering his English. Of course, it was not the daily copy but that of the previous day. No big news. He had already an inkling on what the articles were about.

Then, his eyes fell on a piece of news he had not known before.

"Death of MATSUDA Cosmetic Heiress Rin Namikaze in a car accident." He read out loud, a frown marring his face.

"Matsuda?" Itachi intervened, frowning as well.

Due to Itachi's interest in the news, Naruto continued reading aloud.

"Early this Tuesday morning, the car of Cosmetic Heiress Rin Namikaze, nee Matsuda, was found drowned in the Hudson river. _'The first observations of the investigations lead us to believe that it may have been an accident occurred because of the excessive speed.'_ declared New Jersey Chief of Transit Police Joseph Bober. She left behind a mother and a father Kyouko and Kenzaburou Matsuda, and a newly wedded husband Minato Namikaze–"

Then, the blond looked up, only to see a frowning Itachi sipping his hot tea.

"Ah… do you know them?" He asked after a moment of hesitation, eyes fixed on his roommate.

"Sorry if it's a rude question." He added quickly, noticing Itachi's troubled face.

"No, no… it's nothing" Itachi replied, slowly. "It's just that… it will mean more work on my part, I guess. I will have to find myself a new secretary. I will call the interim agency later."

Naruto's ears perked at this.

"Interim? What for? You need a pro! If you do interim… you must have fired secretaries quicker than you could have hired them." He ranted out, waving his arms around. "It's not that they are bad, of course, but they don't qualify for that sort of specific job… I know, I've been there once! Secretary for a doctor, a one–day–only job. You see, his current secretary had been sick and he needed a hand. It was hell for both the doctor and I!"

He took a sip of his tea, pausing a second, completely failing to see the amused expression of Itachi in front of him.

"But seriously, I can find you a more knowledgeable person! He's a law student, and he's looking for a part–time job… it would be perfect for him! You see, he's an old friend of mine!"

Jumping up from his seat Naruto moved to the counter and grabbed one of the pink post–its, furiously scribbling something on it.

"His name is Suigetsu, and as I told you, he's a law student –third year. Dynamic, conscientious. Yes, he can be a bit impulsive and witty, but he's a hard–working type, I assure you. You won't regret giving him a chance…"

The blond moved back to Itachi, pushing the post–it towards him, with a bright smile.

"Try him first, before interim".

……………………………

He had barely stepped through the agency's entrance that he was literally attacked by his co–workers, who had wanted to pay their condolences at him right away. Heart–felt apologies and lame comments all fused into a loud buzzing around him as he desperately tried to push the mob around him and reach his booth.

"Air… I need **air**…" Naruto whined, shoving aside Aiko–chan, his booth neighbour, and making a beeline for the water fountain.

This was just another annoying thing about being buddy with his colleagues –having to stand their comments and words after… after what happened with the marriage.

'Failed marriage.' He corrected himself.

"Naruto, here you are!" A cheerful voice attracted his attention, and turning around he saw his boss smiling at him through his dark but thin mask. "I have a mission for you!"

Naruto blinked, and bit his lower lip. He was torn between relief of having an excuse to escape his co–workers' attentions, since they were currently bathing in his misery -Naruto could nearly heard them thought: 'Yeah! At last someone more miserable than I am.'-, and anxiousness about what kind of hellish mission Kakashi would make him go through.

When he had just started out in the bank, Kakashi had locked onto him, making him run those missions -or errands, as they actually were. Naruto had ended up being more of a gofer than a bank–employee, by getting Kakashi's dry–cleaning, buying him porns, washing his car, and running around for his entertainment.

This was what older employees considered Kakashi's welcoming 'practical joke' for novices.

Everyone working under Hatake had to go through the same treatment without distinction. Unfortunately for Naruto, Kakashi still used him: sending him out to complete 'missions' even though he had been working there for three months already.

"I want you to deliver these papers." Kakashi interrupted Naruto's musings, tapping lightly on his head with the thick paper–craft envelope. "to the Haruno. It must be done **now**".

Naruto pouted and snatched the envelope out of Kakashi's hand, sighing. He did not mind doing this kind of mission, though.

"I'm going. Better then, consider me gone already..." He stated.

……………………………

It took Naruto fifteen minutes pedalling through Kyôto on his orange bike to reach the district where the Haruno lived.

Naruto loved his bike, of course since it was painted of his favour colour, and also because the previous one had been a second–hand, and pink, of all things.

This one was brand new, with a little basked on the front –not girly at all– and thanks to the new ecologic awareness, it had been entirely paid by the company, and belonged to him.

In exchange, he had to sign a contract stating that he would use it to come to work as long as the weather permitted him to.

Finally, Haruno's manor appeared in front of his eyes. He stepped off his bike, parking it next to the rack where other bikes were, and after having chained it to be sure no one would steal it, he moved towards the front door.

Strangely, he did not feel as oppressed as he had during the previous trip to the house, and that helped him quite a lot.

If memories served him right, he thought, today was the butler's day off. Of course, it was just like him, strange butler he was, to choose Wednesdays rather than Sundays as his weekly day off. He remembered that…

Naruto shook his head violently. No, he would not go there. It hurt already to vaguely think of _her_, he would not humiliate himself more.

Naruto coughed lightly and knocked on the door.

Nope, he decided. He did not really want to face any Haruno for the day. Yesterday had been enough already, even though Haruno–san had not been terrible at all… he had been polite to the maximum degree. But honestly, he did not like to be around the austere man for too long.

He was nice, but he was cold. At least towards him.

The blond man bounced from one feet to the other, whistling softly to himself.

Why were they taking so long to answer the door? He was sure they had to be there.

Naruto knocked again.

Still, no answer.

'Should I enter anyway?' he wondered boldly.

He eyed the small interstice between the door and the floor, wondering if it would be such a bad idea to just push the crafted envelope inside and just leave.

Kakashi had not specified that he wanted him to deliver the envelope to Haruno's awaiting hands. But if something happened to it, he would be the one blamed.

Naruto took a deep breathe, and after having waited for one more minute, he turned the knob.

To his surprise, the door had not been locked.

"Is someone there?" He asked, hesitantly stepping inside the house.

As he scanned the entrée, he found it empty.

There was no one… but Naruto decided to keep on, not wanting to place the envelope around so that it could be mistaken for advertising pamphlets. At least he could drop it on the kitchen table with a note, or something… besides, the house had never been empty before, at least to his knowledge.

He twisted around from his position, trying to see if there was anyone in the visible rooms, and yet, the answer was still negative.

Was it really empty?

Taking some hesitant steps towards the dining room, Naruto noticed a heap of clothes right next to the table. It was such a strange, out of place sight, that he stopped, blinking in surprise.

His curiosity taking the best of him, he moved forwards, pushing the clothes a bit. Only it was not just 'clothes'. This was… a person!

Feeling something akin to dread fill him, Naruto pushed away the clothes, trying to find the body underneath. And there she was; Mrs Haruno, pale and definitely unconscious.

She was laying there, abandoned leaning on the table like a doll. Her face looking pale, wrinkles marring her face, making it look older than it was.

His blood turning cold in his veins, Naruto searched for a pulse. Delicately holding her neck and wrist, and let out a sigh of relief. Her pulse was regular, if only a bit faint.

Tapping lightly on her cheek, Naruto called out her name, unsure on what to do.

"Haruno–san…? Haruno–san?" His voice faltered lightly as she did not wake up.

He carefully laid her down on the floor then he tried clumsily to undo her kimono's obi and slapped her softly.

"Haruno–san, please… wake up… don't do this to me. Shit, I don't remember what I should do next… Haruno–san! Shiiiiiiiit…" Naruto ranted.

Fighting the panic mounting inside him, Naruto fumbled with his phone, dialling 119 and holding his breath.

"This is 119, hello. What is your emergency?"

Oh, definitely, the female voice on the other end of the phone was the sweetest thing Naruto had ever heard and the calmest too.

"Argh… what is it that I have to say already???… hmmm…. I'm at Haruno's Residence… and… there is Haruno–san, she's unconscious, she's not responding to my calling her name, but her breathing is regular and so is her pulse. She doesn't seem to have anything broken, either..." He babbled, fear gripping at his insides as he tried to explain the situation quickly enough.

"Are her hands or feet cold to the touch?" The voice asked.

Naruto pressed his trembling fingers on the smooth skin of the fainted woman's hand, then passing his hand under her small white sock, he tested her ankle.

"No, they're warm." He reported.

"Ok, I'm dispatching an ambulance immediately, please give me the address of the residence." The voice patiently asked, urging him on but also trying to calm him down.

After having answered with the correct data, Naruto shut the call off, resuming his attempts at waking the woman up.

Several minutes later, even though he felt they were hours, Naruto finally heard the siren of the ambulance break the eerie silence. He wondered briefly if he had left the door opened in his coming inside, and if he should go greet the ambulance–operators, but he did not want to let Miko–san alone.

"This is the First–aid workers..." Someone called out.

Naruto lifted his head, his hands not abandoning the unresponsive hands of the unconscious woman.

"Here!" He called urgently.

Three men ran inside the room, pushing the furnitures away from the prone woman to make room around her, one of them kneeling at her side.

A second man grabbed Naruto by his arm and gently led him away, whilst the last man opened a first–aid kit.

From there on, everything blurred together –their attempts at reviving her, the decision of taking Haruno Miko to the hospital, the trip in the ambulance, where he was reassured about her health…

It was only at the hospital, waiting outside her room, that Naruto realised he had still the craft letter with him, clutched in his still trembling hands.

……………………………

It had been a long, long day.

Far too long.

He had remained with Miko–san until her husband had arrived, which had taken a while, since every time Naruto had called, his secretary had blocked all his attempts at bypassing her to tell Miko's husband what had happened.

"I'm just following orders, young man." She had claimed every single one of the twenty–eight times he had called.

Finally, Haruno–san had arrived. At two PM. Raging at not being warned earlier and worried as Naruto had never seen him.

Back at work, Kakashi had complimented him for his initiative of staying with Miko -not that Naruto had consciously made that choise. On the other hand, it had not stopped the papers piled up on his desk from being there. That had forced him to work faster, in order to do what he usually did in an entire work day of eight–hours work in merely four of them –four intense, heavy hours.

He did not even have the time to get the car back to Obito.

Of course, he had called him to explain his reasons -emergency at work-, and that he would drive the car to him the following day.

Thankfully, Obito had been understanding, but this only brought more work for Naruto.

Pinnacle of the day, he had to walk back home, because he had left his bike in front of the Haruno's house.

Yes, he could have just taken the metro, but there was a valid explanation for his reticence: he hated the underground because it was, well, underground. He did not like the feeling, he was not a mole. Plus, it was always filled to the brim at that time of the day.

That was why Naruto's face brightened up at the sight of his apartment building appearing from behind the corner. The only thing going over and over in his mind was 'SHOWER'.

"Hey, Naruto–blondie!"

He stopped, too tired to process to whom the voice belonged to despite knowing, somewhere inside him, that he knew it, and was left annoyed by the knowledge of recognizing the voice but not being able to place a name next to it.

Turning around, the blond had to stifle a yawn.

"Ye…" he blinked a few times. "Suigetsu?! What the hell are **you** doing here? Wait, what the **hell** did you do to your hair?!"

There, in front of him, stood his friend, Suigetsu –the very person he had been speaking about to Itachi in the morning -with clear, teal–coloured hair. Not meshes. The whole hair was completely dyed, too!

Not that it did not suit him, Naruto admitted to himself. On the contrary, with the kind of pale complexion Suigetsu had, and with the colour of his eyes, too, which were of a strange, mesmerising tone of blue, having teal-toned hair only accentuated his exotic looks, already noticeable thanks to his toned chest and slim but strong arms.

Besides, with his hair so straight and pointy -curtesy of hours in the bathroom-, and his usual sneer in place, he actually looked kind of cool.

To any person meeting him for the first time, he would look like a determined young del... er, man. Maybe a bit too smug, but definitely a... strong... personality.

Besides, Suigetsu liked to keep his work out of his private life, which made him professional.

"What? Don't you like it? The colour is called teal, so that you know." Suigetsu answered, his pointy teeth flashing behind thin lips.

He had paid a dentist to make him teeth like vampire's to 'accentuate his cool side', he had told Naruto when asked.

"I know what it's called, thank you very much." Naruto muttered, shaking his head. "And then you wonder why you can't get a job?! You look like a delinquent!"

Suigetsu's sneer turned into a full–fledged smirk. "But I _am_ a delinquent, and you know it."

He stifled a laugh "Besides, this colour gives me a starting point of advantage. Underestimating me will be their demise… Anyway, could you open the fucking door and let me in? Or we could just stay here and debate forever about my hair, which I have to repeat, is damn–right awesome!"

Having completely forgot about his morning speech with Itachi, thanks to everything that had happened afterwards, Naruto blinked, surprised.

"Do you have something to do in my apartment building?" He asked.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes, "You should know. It was you who recommended me, after all."

Naruto flushed, letting out an embarrassed laugh, scratching the back of his head with one hand and pushing the door open with the other, inviting Suigetsu in.

"Ha ha ha… yeah, sorry about that, had a long day, and you know how I am..." He finished lamely.

"Anyway," Suigetsu straightened. "What can you tell me about the bloke you recommended me to?"

He started jumping up the stairs four steps at a time.

"If I had to guess myself, I'd say he proposed we'd meet at your apartment as a sort of neutral grounds… where I could feel mostly comfortable. That'd also mean he knows you enough to know where you live, but not well enough to know you just moved in…"

Naruto absently nodded.

"… or he would be aware that I've never set foot in your flat yet. I wouldn't have either, not with that bitch you were about to marry, at any rate!" Suigetsu continued, unmindful of how Naruto stiffened at such words.

He did not really need to be reminded of that, or anything that had to do with _her_ now.

Maybe one day, he would be able to move to the next phase of mourning -the one right after 'despair and denial' and right before 'acceptation'- like the psychologist said-, where he could talk freely about those things without feeling the dead weight press on his chest every time he thought about _her._ But… he doubted it would come anytime soon.

If ever.

"Tadaima. (3)" Naruto called out as he opened the door of his flat, kicking his shoes away tiredly.

Glancing back at Suigetsu to make sure he followed, he found him staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a condescending look.

"You still do that? don't you know how ridiculous it is to call out in an empty flat?" He chastised, snickering and taking off his shoes, kicking them in a corner gracelessly.

Naruto grinned and entered the apartment, motioning for his friend to come as well. He then watched him take a good look around, whistling in appreciation.

"Still, too much pink..." Suigetsu mumbled, low but not enough that Naruto could not hear him.

"Okaeri. (4)" The tardy answer followed.

The bedroom's door opened, and Itachi came out, dressed casually but clearly business–like.

Suigetsu turned around, jaw slacked, and blinked, before looking at Naruto for an explanation.

"Suigetsu, this is Itachi, the person with whom you have an appointment… and my new roommate." Naruto smirked, feeling oddly satisfied.

The teal haired law student let out a muffled gasp, "Roommate?"

"Itachi, this is Suigetsu," Naruto continued as if he had not heard him. "The person I've told you about this morning… I'm sorry if he's not… 'presentable' right now..." He continued, ignoring a twitching Suigetsu, "But I'm sure he'd probably be willing to dye his hair back to black for the job –isn't it, Sui–kun?"

Said 'Sui–kun' nodded dumbly, allowing Naruto to push him towards the couch. Naruto then proceeded to prepare some tea which he put down in front of Itachi as soon as it was ready.

"Now, have a good interview! I'm off to my long awaited SHOWER!" He concluded with a satisfied smile, without missing a beat.

……………………………

Once again, Naruto found himself cursing at the uselessness of cars.

They were unpractical to park.

That, as he was trying to park the car, in the only parking place left, in the parking lot.

A **small** parking space.

Where the car could barely get into.

The 'parking' part was the whole reason why he hated to drive.

Things like these never went the way he wanted them.

And karma agreed with him when he tried to change gear, with a protesting metallic crunch, and grounding loudly.

"Shit! shit, shit!, shit, shit, shit!" He cursed, as the engine stalled for the fourth time. "Enough! I'm leaving you here like that, and fuck it all!"

Getting out of the car with a growl and slamming the door behind his back with a vengeful cry, Naruto shifted around to see if he had parked it really badly. He nodded –it was crosswise one of the tires hanging precariously on the sidewalk. At least, it fit in the lot.

"If it's bothering people, they'll have to live with it!" He decided. "Grrr. Stupid car! I hate you! Do you hear me?"

For good measure, Naruto kicked the car's tire in an useless attempt to push it off the sidewalk, and hissed when it refused to move.

"Interesting way to park a car." Someone commented from behind him.

Naruto swirled around, ready to bite the head off whoever had the gall to interrupt his angry rant, but stopped.

The person in front of him was a male, not much taller than he was, with a pale, doll–like face, typical slanted Japanese eyes, and short, black hair.

He was wearing a sleeveless black shirt that barely covered the upper half of his torso, something akin to black plus–fours, and a pair of black sandals. To complete this dark look he also had black fingerless gloves, in the middle of Summer? Could that guy not feel the heat?

"Nice, missie… Are you a natural blond?" The smiling man asked, smiling lecherously.

Naruto felt his cheeks redden. "I'm no missie!"

"Well, you certainly look like one." The stranger replied, and stepping forwards, he slapped his hand on Naruto's crotch, getting a good feel of what was there. "You also feel like one".

Naruto squealed in shock, backing from the man and batting away the guy's hand.

The other simply smirked more, nodding to himself.

"You do feel like there is nothing down there… are you totally sure you're not a missie, darling?" He asked again.

Naruto's flush turned darker at the offence, but he was so caught in his shock that he could not reply. As soon as he got to a reasonable distance from the perverted man, Naruto half walked, half ran inside Obito's Ad building, continuously looking back to see if the man was following him.

There, he easily spotted his friend, who was walking alone in the hall, and ran to him.

"Obito–san! Hello!" He called out, attracting the older man's attention. "You wouldn't believe what a weirdo I met out there, in the parking lot…"

"Ah, Naruto–kun, it's nice to see you! Why are you here?" Obito smiled warmly, nodding his head towards his younger friend.

Naruto, whose flush had disappeared, returned in full bloom.

"Ah." He coughed, embarrassed. "I'm here to give you back your car. I must thank you for your help! I parked it in the front, I hope it wasn't too much of a bother." Naruto explained.

"No, not at all." Obito reassured him. "It's my own professional car, and besides, I don't use it much, anyway."

"Thanks for your help!" Naruto smiled brightly.

"Oh! Missie! You didn't even give me your name!" A whiny voice echoed in the hall.

"**I am not a missie!**" Naruto yelled, swirling around and glaring at the same man from the parking lot, who was now smiling a rather fake, hollow smile at him.

"Maybe… but as I felt before, you do lack something. You must be really small if you're not a missie…" The man shifted forwards again, trying to squeeze Naruto's non–existing breasts. "And you seem to be lacking here, as well…"

Naruto squealed again, rather unmanly, and hided behind Obito in an effort to avoid the perverted attempt at groping.

That guy… freaked him out.

"Ah, Sai–san, you're early." Obito greeted pleasantly, smiling at the man and not even perturbed by the actions of the man.

Naruto pouted, but registered the man's name –Sai– for later use.

"Well, apparently I did the right thing coming here so early… Obito–san, I found my model!" Sai claimed, this time in a different fashion from before, and clapped his hands.

"Already?" Obito asked, dubious.

Seeing the two were getting into some sort of conversation that he was not part of, Naruto tried to sneak away silently and evade the pervert, but was grabbed and taken back by Obito.

"Naruto! Sorry, I didn't introduce you two…" He steered the blond in front of the other. "Naruto, this is Sai, the photographer for the next UCHIHA campaign".

"Oh!" Naruto slapped his fist on his other hand. "The campaign Ino and Shika were working onto?" He asked, curious and vaguely interested.

"Yeah, it's going to be a huge thing," Sai admitted.

"So, who is the model you chose? I thought you wanted me to organise a casting." Obito asked.

"But of course, missie here! Naruto!" Sai announced proudly, jumping on Naruto and making him spin on his feet.

"Naruto?!" Obito exclaimed at the same time Naruto screeched. "Me?!"

"And this is not negotiable!" Sai added, with a dark, predatorily smile, when he saw Naruto open his mouth to protest.

"_No way!_"

……………………………

If there was a time Naruto cherished whilst working, it was the hour and a half of lunch break; he was proud to announce he was a fast–eater, so that he could then spend the rest of his time in idle daydreaming or video–gaming around the office.

Of course, the moment Naruto hated the most was the period that went from the start of his lunch break to the moment he could put his chopsticks inside the bowl and start eating his ramen. That meant the waiting for the water to boil and the following three minutes.

"Tch tch tch tch tch..." Naruto nervously repeated, waiting impatiently for the water for his ramen to boil.

It was true that watching it like a hawk would not make it boil faster, but still.

"Naruto–kun?" Aiko called out for him, popping up from behind the corner. "There is a lady asking for you."

Naruto detached himself from the kettle and looked at the young woman with a questioning look in his blue eyes and a pout.

"She is waiting for you in the lobby… and it's not nice to make a lady wait." She added.

Naruto sighed, and after a last, longing look towards his kettle and his ramen pack waiting there, he nodded and left the dining room area after taking the plug of the boiler off.

"I hope it won't take long" he mumbled to himself, already in a bad mood.

The morning had already proved to be a hassle, what with the perverted idiot and Obito's proposal.

It was all the car's fault, damn it! He just knew it! Cars were cursed things that only gave more problem than solution.

Besides, who could this 'lady' waiting for him be? He was not expecting anyone… and surely it could not be…

Shaking his head, Naruto entered the lobby, dragging his feet.

The person waiting there was not anyone he had expected, either.

"Haruno–san?" He exclaimed, surprised.

"Naruto–kun" Miko smiled at him, standing up. "I wanted to thank you for yesterday."

The blond man blushed lightly, bowing at her. "It was nothing, really. Are you fine now?"

"It was just a little bit of dehydration." The woman's shoulders stiffened a bit as she bowed her head in shame. "It looks like I do not drink enough."

Naruto's stomach took this chance to let itself be known.

"Ah! I'm sorry for bothering you during your lunch period!" Miko added, flushing in shame, now having realized she had maybe choose the wrong moment.

Naruto felt something inside him stir, and shook his head in haste.

"No, no, don't worry about that! You know what, would you like to go out and eat with me? I'll pay. I just need to go get my vest… it would be nice to share my lunch period with someone, for once."

Miko gasped, surprised but inwardly pleased and grateful for the proposition.

"It would be my pleasure." She admitted, smiling warmly at him.

Quickly running back to his booth, Naruto put his ramen cup back in his 'ramen' drawer -which was, as its nickname says, filled to the brim of various instant ramen cups- and grabbed his vest.

It would be a change for him, but not an unpleasant one, strangely.

"I'm taking my lunch break outside." He warned Aiko with a wave.

She replied with one, too, and returned to her phone chatting.

The moment he returned in the lobby, he saw Miko standing exactly where he had left her, and after having approached her, he offered his arm.

"Here we go." he smirked. "Will this charming lady allow me to take her to this new restaurant that opened not far from here? Would she try it with me?"

"Of course, I'd be honoured." She replied, charmed.

……………………………

Monday: Another week began in Naruto's life.

During the last few weeks, Naruto had forged a new routine that added Mrs Haruno to his day. They would go out to eat together. She was nice, a warm woman, and yet so lonely.

Naruto would have never imagined it. He had thought she was an austere person, who would never accept changes, possessing a very stubborn, unforgiving streak. Surely it was because of the way she had been depicted by her daughter.

Besides, every time he had met her before, it had been with... her daughter. Ans Mrs Haruno had always treated him quite coldly.

But now, after two weeks, Naruto had changed opinion of her.

She was warm, easy–going. And talking to her, spending time with her… felt almost as if he finally had a mother.

He could see she was just as happy as he was to spend time with him, even though he could clearly see her efforts in avoiding anything related to her daughter.

That should have dampened their strange, developing relationship, and yet it did not. If anything, it made it grew stronger.

The other advantage the lunches together brought was that he had been able to avoid what he had ended up calling 'the Ino attack'.

Since the pervert called Sai had announced, out of the blue, that Naruto was going to be his model, Ino had been pestering him on daily basis to accept.

But Naruto was dead set in refusing the offer. He did not want to work with the pervert. He would go crazy with the comments he was sure the man would make.

It was always a hit to his manliness!

Whilst mulling over the last few weeks, Naruto entered the restaurant and looked around, searching for Miko's familiar face in the crowd, then blinked.

Uh–oh… that was bad.

Sitting next to Mrs Haruno, there was a blond mop of hair that looked suspiciously like Ino's.

"Talk about the devil, and he will surely pop up." Naurto mumbled to himself.

Naruto slowly made his way towards the two women, dreading the outcome.

"Good afternoon Naruto–kun, how are you feeling today?" Miko greeted him with a grin.

"Good afternoon, Haruno–san." He replied casually. "I'm fine, and you?"

"Good, good." She motioned for him to sit down. "Ino–chan tells me she's a good friend of yours too. She asked if she could eat with us, I hope it does not bother you, Naruto–kun?"

"No, not at all." He reassured her, taking his seat.

The feeling of dread intensified.

"Ino–chan was just telling me how that famous photographer has decided that you would be his new model." Miko informed, clearly excited. "This is such a great opportunity! To be able to work with such famed and renowned professional!"

"Yeah, maybe..." Naruto muttered in reply, looking through his menu.

"You should think about it." Miko berated him, in a stern voice. "I know it won't make you into some sort of celebrity, but it would be a great boost to your finances!"

Naruto smiled to himself. He had come to know Miko's pragmatic, analytic mind during the lunches they spent together.

He had been upset when she had refused to allow him to pay for her the first few times. Even later on, she had paid his share too -not everytime mind you.

In response, she would always chastise him, telling him he should keep his money for something 'more important' -more important than food? He did not know.

"I am a rich woman, you know? I wont' need that money in my tomb! But you are still young, so you need to be more careful!"_ S_he would sternly berate him.

"See, Naruto? Even Haruno–san is telling you to accept the job!" Ino exclaimed, grinning at him and making him wish he could throw some cake on her winning smile.

"I already told you, I can't st–" Naruto started, but was interrupted by the waiter, who abruptly but politely intervened with a 'Have you decided yet?'

He was obviously new at the job, for no experiment waiter in this kind of restaurant would interupt a conversation so abrutly.

"Yes, I will take a Lunch Special, please." Mrs Haruno stated, then looking at Ino.

"One for me, as well." The young woman nodded, as the waiter scribbled down on his notebook.

"The same for me. With an Evian bottle, please." Naruto concluded.

"It will be coming up soon." The waiter concluded, walking off towards the kitchen.

"Naruto," Miko started again, indignantly. "You should really consider the offer more carefully!"

"Haruno–san is right! I know, Sai–san can be a little bit of a pervert, but-" Ino piped in.

Naruto growled.

"A little bit of a pervert? He tried to squeeze my chest and he patted my–" Naruto shut his mouth close, flushing darkly.

Ino rolled her eyes, unperturbed. "Ok, I relent, he's a total pervert. But he is not the first you're working with. You have to be professional!"

"I'm no professional in that branch." Naruto countered.

"If I may intrude… being a 'model' and working in a bank as you do, both are about presenting your best look to the client. Wouldn't it be the same? Your refusing this job because you don't think you can handle your client's attitude, as you put it, and your refusing a client in your bank because he hit on you?" Miko interrupted, with a maternal voice. "In other words, would you refuse to serve a client in your bank if he acted like this Sai person?"

Naruto closed his mouth and thought about it for a minute. If Sai had been a client in his bank, Naruto would have never dreamt of refusing to serve him, as he would any other client. He would have set ground rules, of course, made it clear he was a professional and would not tolerate being harassed in any way.

"No. I would not refuse." He answered reluctantly, looking down.

"Then, will you accept?" Ino asked, leaning over.

"Why can't it be you?" Naruto tried to find another escape route.

"Can't be." Ino answered, sadly.

"Why not? If they are looking for a blond haired, blue eyed beauty, then it's you, not me." Naruto whined.

Ino smiled, she really enjoyed Naruto's straightforwardness. He almost never thought before talking, and always said the truth. He was really an honest person.

"My chief refused to let me work in anything related to the UCHIHA project because of… an accident happened to which I was at fault of… last time we worked with them." Ino explained, carefully avoiding mentioning Sakura and her unhealthy obsession with the young Uchiha man.

"That's so totally unfair!" Naruto whined more, clearly oblivious to Ino's rather bad attempt at covering up the real cause of the 'accident'. "Was that incident so important? Was someone hurt? Why the hell can't you convince your boss?"

Ino bit on her lower lip, glancing away guiltily.

"A… a person I recommended for the work… _pestered_ Uchiha–san, in a stalker way." The blonde explained, keeping her tone emotionless and managing to keep as much information as she could to herself.

After all, this was not just about Naruto. Sakura's mother was here, too. It would be offending them both if she were to reveal the depths of Sakura's insanity.

"But it's unfair! How can you be counted responsible for someone else's actions? It's not like you could control that person!" Naruto argued.

Ino felt a smile bloom on her face, making it look even more beautiful than usual.

"Thanks, Naruto. But I am aware of my own faults, too. I should have talked her out of it, making sure she would not bother Uchiha–san." She confessed.

"You are a good person, Ino–chan." Miko interrupted, nodding her head knowingly.

"Well, besides," Ino got animated again "You are the right person for this job!"

"They sent you out to convince me to work for this project when you can't work on it yourself?" Naruto hissed, furious. "The nerve!"

"I offered myself," Ino corrected, smiling. "It's really important. Sai–san chose you. And he won't work with anyone else, now that he's decided. He's stubborn that way".

A few seconds passed.

"I will accept, then..." Naruto admitted defeat and nodded, lowering his head on the table's surface.

"Really?" Ino beamed.

"But," Ino's smile faltered "On one condition –YOU will work with me."

Ino's smile returned full force and Miko also smiled indulgently at him.

He suddenly felt like he had just signed for something he was not, and would never be, ready for.

……………………………

Signing the contract had not posed any problem to Naruto.

He had obtained everything he had asked for with no difficulty, among other things, that Sai would not refer to any part of his anatomy during work –which of course meant he would have to avoid him as much as he could outside work.

Now, the shots would be a week long around the middle of the summer -to have the bluest sky.

Luckily, Naruto had already asked for a leave for his honeymoon, and it had been no problem with the adminastration to change the dates -apparently no-one had asked for hollidays at that period.

Naruto was, after all, quite happy, he had managed to find something to do during that period. Otherwise he would have remained home, and he would have hated it –running in circles like he seemed to do during any holidays he took.

There were only three days left before the beginning of the shots, and Naruto would finally meet with the last and final member of the crew, the silent partner of his: Uchiha–san.

Naruto was, and it was unavoidable, quite curious. This Uchiha guy was the same age as him, only a few months older, at the most, and everyone called him with the honorific for 'Sir'.

Naruto snorted, not knowing what to think.

He hoped Uchiha would not be like he figured he was –snobbish, who thought people like him were nothing but dirt under his shoe.

Naruto had worked with this kind of person before, and he had no doubt that they would not get along well.

But as long as he could maintain his distance from the snobbish idiot, there would not be problems.

So there he was, waiting for his first meeting with Uchiha–sama, bored out of his mind, since the prick was also late.

Ok, he was only a couple of minutes late, but late, nevertheless!

Yes, he might have been the lightest bit biased against the other guy, but still. It was not like he had any basis to go with.

If he was wrong, he would gladly befriend him.

As if.

Honestly, who did that guy think he was, to make people wait for him?

Naruto glanced at the clock –05:09 PM.

He had gotten out of work earlier to come there on time, and it did not bode him well if he had to wait, over his already mounting displeasure for having accepted this job.

"99 bottles of beer on a wall…" Naruto began to sing, so bored his brain had gone fishing. "One bottle fell, and now there are only 98 bottles of beer on the wall…"

"What a boring song to sing." A voice from behind him stated, with a hint of amusement in it.

Naruto did not even look behind at the person speaking, knowing he was probably someone who worked there. "I'm bored, waiting for a stuck–up ass, so I'm singing a boring song".

"And… who is this stuck–up ass?" The person asked.

"Some… Uchiha–sama guy. He is-" Naruto glanced back at the clock. "10 minutes late… to think I had to get out of work earlier just to meet him…" Naruto complained, sighing loudly.

The stranger snorted.

"Maybe his train was late." He replied intelligently, walking around the couch on which Naruto was sitting and flopping down next to him.

"Bah..." was Naruto's witty reply.

He refused to even think about it.

"And what do you think your Uchiha–sama looks like?" He asked then, smirking.

"I don't really know. I've never met him." was the answer he got. "I imagine someone quite fit, because obviously if he wasn't he would pay for a model to pose as him in this ad, right? Snobbish, maybe, and arrogant. Definitely not interesting!"

Naruto glanced at the man sitting next to him.

He was young, probably the same age as he was, with dark hair with blue highlights, cut in a strange way, and if Naruto had to describe it, he would probably call it 'the chicken–ass hairstyle'; he also had ebony coloured eyes, which gave an intense vibe, deep and serious.

He wore a black suit, which Naruto thought was pretty plain and boring even though it looked like it was of a high quality, and thus, rather expensive.

Naruto did not care for expensive clothes –as long as they were colorful and resistant, he did not care if they were branded.

"By the way, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you." Naruto offered his hand to the chicken–haired person, wondering if it would be too offensive to ask how did he manage that hairstyle.

"Nice to meet you too, Naruto–kun." The stranger replied with a smile, taking Naruto's hand to his lips and brushing them on the blond's skin. "My name is Uchiha, Sasuke… and it's a real pleasure."

……………………………

Against his better judgment, Naruto had not been able to stop blushing since he entered Obito's office with Sasuke until the moment he stepped out of it. Even now, an hour and a half after the event, he still flushed at remembering the poor, idiotic first impression he must have made with his client.

And the way that Uchiha–san had greeted him… kissing his hand.

Naruto blushed a deeper shade of red and brushed the back of his hand with his fingers, wondering if he should have been more disgusted or if it was normal to be flustered instead –if it did not say something about him he did not want to face yet.

He glanced at Shikamaru who was sitting next to him reading his newspaper and who had witnessed his humiliation.

Then, taking a sip of his non–alcoholic drink, Naruto shook his head, feeling miserable.

"Yo, Naruto."

The blond looked up only to see Ino taking a seat in front of him.

"Is everything alright? You seem a little flustered. You're not coming down with some cold, are you?"

"No, no! Everything is fine." Naruto answered, too quickly for his peace of mind, "Peachy!"

"Did you say you wanted to talk to me?" Ino asked then, resting her chin on her hands.

"Do you remember when-" Naruto hesitated.

He had managed so well until then -repeating this speech in his head was way easier. But it seemed that he was not totally ready to say… her name… and yet…

"When she… when Sakura decided she wanted me to ride the carousel with her, on our first date?"

Naruto's eyes watched as Ino stiffened.

She did remember. How could she not?

"You told… you told her you would never, ever ride anything so ridiculous." Ino remembered, allowing herself to smile, albeit a bit sadly.

From a nearby table, uncared by both, Shikamaru quietly listened, whilst leaning on the table, almost asleep.

"And then, she pestered me for an hour straight, refusing to go to any other attraction unless we did that ride..." Naruto continued, apparently unperturbed, but inwardly weeping.

"And then you bought her favourite ice–cream for her, she spilled it all on your head..." Ino took over, getting a bit excited at the fond memories.

"Claiming that now I couldn't be any more ridiculous, and that I had to ride the damn carousel together with her." Naruto finished, sombrely.

Ino sighed, feeling her heart clench in her chest. "Yes. That was funny. Did you know, she had me come along only so that I could take photos of you two?"

"Yeah. I knew. How could I not, with your lame ass excuses, 'I'm going in the opposite direction, don't' mind me!'." He mimicked her voice perfectly.

"And then hearing several clicking sounds, followed by that horrible gear sound of your disposable camera, and you laughing when she used the strawberry ice–cream on my head to make Tanuki eyes…" Naruto accused, growing a bit more emotional, and pouting. "I never did see those pictures, in the end."

"I have them somewhere. I think I made more than one copy, of course. I even got a grand format picture of you on the carousel, with the ice–cream cone still on your head, and your dripping Tanuki eyes…"

"Really?" Naruto asked, surprised at the confession.

"Yep" Ino smiled brightly.

"She is… Sakura is… a stubborn girl." Naruto murmured.

Her name was still so hard to pronounce as it had before, but it also compelled him to say it, and maybe, by saying it so much he could exorcise his pain a bit.

"That, she is..." Ino confirmed, sobering up.

"Say, Ino," Naruto attacked her directly, eyes fixed in hers. "Was the person who… pestered Uchiha–san, Sakura?"

Ino looked anywhere but at Naruto. But the blue eyes did not look away. So after a pause, she nodded.

"Yeah." She murmured. "I thought it was just a fluke. But she insisted… It was like… an obsession…"

Ino's clear blue eyes met Naruto's deeper ones with guilt and pain clear in them. She did feel responsible for not stopping Sakura, for not seeing the obvious before.

"Do you think she went after him?" Naruto pressed on.

He knew he was also hurting her, but he deserved to know it all.

"She didn't tell me anything per se. But… it was clear to everyone that she was really obsessed with him." Ino stated, sadly.

Naruto bit down his lip hard, and forced his tense muscles to calm.

"Ino, it is not your fault." He finally said, looking straight into the young woman's eyes.

"As much as… it pains me… she would have done this sooner or later. And she did it before her running could create more pain. If it wasn't him, it would be someone else. I…"

He stopped, gathering his thoughts together. It was such a hard thing to say, not just to himself, but also aloud, when it would become the truth, when it would not be possible to deny it anymore. It would be there, floating above him and yet, it could help him move on.

"I've come to terms with the fact that she didn't love me as much as I loved her, Ino." He scrunched his eyes close, forcing back tears of pain.

It did hurt just as much as he knew it would.

"Thanks, Naruto. I know it hasn't been easy for you either, and yet you took time to comfort me." The blonde girl was really thankful, and relieved.

She had imagined that conversation more than once, and each time Naruto ended up rejecting her, blaming her... hating her and she never could find any fault in his unforgiving response.

"I'm the best, after all, ain't I?" Naruto winked at her, relaxing a bit.

That was done.

Curiously that weight upon his chest had totally disapeared, as if it never existed to begin with.

"Don't be this cocky." Ino yelled playfully, hitting Naruto over the head.

Naruto avoided her blow and pulled out the tongue at her, feeling a bit better thanks to her presence.

They battled in a cheerful mood until Shikamaru, who had observed both with hawk eyes from his seat a few tables away, stood up and reached over, hitting both of them over their heads, muttering a 'troublesome' under his breath.

"Hey there, Shika!" Naruto greeted, smiling at his friend and patting the seat next to his, invitingly. "What's up?"

Shikamaru groaned loudly, muttering some sort of low reply that got lost, and flopped down, folding his newspaper close.

Naruto glanced at it, trying to catch the headline, and smirked a bit at it.

'Project of new concert Hall.' was written in bold, flashy characters with a small colored picture of Haruno–san shaking hands with a blond haired man that looked vaguely familiar.

"Can I borrow this?" Naruto asked, pointing at the newspaper.

At the muttered 'yes' from the lazy man -who had taken his green tea with him at their table and was now sipping at it, daydreaming already- Naruto grabbed it and started scanning the paper for news.

He did not have time to read his copy in the morning, obviously, and was wondering what was going on with Miko's husband.

Apparently, he had obtained the contract to build the new Concert Hall, which would be designed by a half–Japanese architect named Namikaze.

The name was ringing a familiar bell, but for the life of it Naruto could not remember where he had heard of it before.

Soon he forgot completely about it as another article caught his interest.

'Death of Sushi bars owner GATOU Hikaru...' was written in way less flashy bold font, in fifth page.

That Gatou guy was... had been a client of his.

Even though he had never met him in person, it was still weird to read about the death of a person you knew. It shifted things in a certain perspective, making it look more real.

He wondered briefly if his wife, who was apparently going to inherit everything he owned, would keep things as they were, or would change them.

He would have to be prepared to answer any questions she had to ask, were she to come to the bank demanding explanations.

But then, maybe, she would be like her husband and leave the matters in his hands, not even bothering to come.

Taking out his phone from the pocket he kept it in, Naruto expertly typed on the small board a memo –'Send condolences to Gatou–sama regarding her late husband'.

……………………………

To be continued

……………………………

(1) miso soup – typical Japanese soup. Contains vegetables, nori algae, etc.

(2) umeboshi – small, sour plums you can eat at breakfast or in onigiri.

(3) Tadaima: I'm home

(4) Okaeri: Welcome back

**Note of Co–author:** please remember that Japanese people state surname before name, but occidental don't. That is why the newspaper states it's Rin Namikaze and not Namikaze Rin. I wanted to point it out just in case.

**PS:** I know Sasuke is a little OOC, but that's because he already considered Naruto as his next prey. Meaning, he want to fuck him silly but he understands that it won't be possible if he is not somewhat subtle.

Today is my birthday and Tomorrow I have a big exam so please review (You can't see but I'm making puppy's eyes at you).

Thanks for reading! XD


	9. Chapter 8

Hello!

**WARNING**: What Happens in this chapter happens at the same time as what happens in the previous chapter.

Story Co-authored by **StarsOfYaoi**

Sorry for the long wait this chapter was ready since forever but I got some personal problem and then my co-author forgot I send her my chapter to complete ;_;

**Thanks to all the reviewers:** **Mumma Zebran; **_**Shadow**_ (Thanks)**; Petileo; **_**Srta. Kinomoto**_(With Naruto thickness? It's gonna take some times)**; butterfly1974; **_**DarkRavie**_**; UchihaObsession; **_**Imperial Mint**_**; Miss Miffi Muffet; **_**only4you**_ (More Itachi here)**; WickedMe763; **_**Zandamh**_**; Artistic18; **_**itachisgurl93**_**; Bella216** (I feel like I'm writing a remake from Dallas sometimes, I'm complicating things way more than they should .)**; **_**Nocturnal Smile**_**; hanakisa; **_**Harumi-Sama**_**; Novus Ars; **_**.**_(Thanks for the review. Next time give me your nickname please)**; demon'sLOver; **_**LynLin**_**; FaerysWing; **_**Yah-Oh-Ee**_**; Darthcloudness; **_**yue no rei**_**; A.C.Y.P; **_**rianifitria**_**; ; **_**Fk306 animelover**_**; twilightserius; **_**-Nightly Halo-**_**; enchanted nightingale; **_**cherryblossoms1987**_**; Stargazer **(Thanks)**; **_**tea**_ (You gave me an idea for the next chapter thanks ^^)**; ****Erroneously****;**_** xxxXXXSMILEXXXxxx**_ (Thanks I don't know Suigetwu at all since I stopped reading Naruto before he appeared so Suigetsu is SOY's work)**; FumetsuKaji; **_**Barranca**_ [X2]**; QjD; **_**Ella1331**_**; BrokenBloodDrops; **_**Mya Uzo**_**; Noo-chan; **_**makoed**_**; Lightly** [X2] (Thank you very much.)**; **_**Eclips-MoonShadowRadiance**_**; sky75rk; **_**Kichou**_**; sesshoumaru4me; **_**Kiaria93**_**; mironi** (New Update I hope you'll like it)**; **_**Minyaka14**_**; LovelyLittleAnge; **_**The-Living-Shadow**_**;**** ohayo** (sorry for the lack of ItaNaru scene I did not want Naruto to look like he was trying to forget Sakura with Itachi)

……………………………

**Long Vacation**

……………………………

**Chapter 8**

……………………………

Obito sat behind his desk, waiting for his computer to start; he was getting ready for his video conference with the UCHIHA and their chosen photograph, idly twirling a pen between his fingers.

By contract, Obito had no say in the choosing of either the photograph nor the model, but even though Sasuke had yet to inform him about the person's identity, he had already an inkling of whom they could be.

Obito smiled to himself, shifting backwards on his chair –he would bet a week worth of his salary on his little cousin's childhood friend, Sai. The young man was incredibly good at what he did… even though Obito had always wondered how the two of them had turned out friends, as they were so different to each other.

Sai was the kind of out–going person who had a tendency to be over joyous and speak in a very direct way, sometimes not realising his words could be harsh. He was not always completely honest, but there was an underlined streak of insolence and falseness in everything he said, in how he moved –that was the only word that could come close to describe what Obito thought of Sai, his trademark setting, in a way.

Of course, there were also good sides of him, they popped up mostly unexpected, and Obito himself found the younger man amusing, in a way.

On the other hand, Sasuke had always seemed cold and uncaring; he would not spare a moment to relax or cheer up, or give you the time of the day, and he never let his feelings show –he never lied about them either, though.

Carefulness was the perfect term to describe him –he always thought before speaking, controlling everything he said and did, calculating everything… even down to the person with whom he would 'fall in love'.

Obito sometimes wondered how much actual feelings there were, underneath all that surface of coolness.

There were never patterns in his work, nor in his love life, he never got attached to anyone, never kept someone near, neither friends nor lovers, for more than a few months, if any at all.

Though both of them had dark hair, dark eyes and a quite pale complexion, their similarities in appearance ended there. Even their dressing styles were as different as sun and moon.

Yes, Sai and Sasuke, despite what others said about their physical resemblance, were two totally different persons, and in Obito's opinion, they could not be friends, even less stay so for this long. The only thing they had in common, was their manipulative abilities. And even then, they acted in different ways, not for the same reason, never for the same goal.

Obito let out a sigh.

He should stop trying to understand how Sai and Sasuke's bizarre, impossible friendship worked, because, in truth, it was not important.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, he straightened up –it read 8 o'clock.

As if on cue, the screen of his computer suddenly lit up in blue, and soon he could see the image of his cousin sitting in his office in Tôkyô, looking as cold and imposing as ever, dressed in one of his Gucci black suits.

"Hello, Sasuke–kun." Obito greeted enthusiastically, smiling and tilting his head to the side.

"Obito–san." Sasuke acknowledged, face unreadable.

After several vaguely awkward seconds, the screen splitted in two, the left side flicking opened to show a young man smiling widely, a pocky precariously perched between his teeth.

"Hey~ Shashugey–chan~" Sai greeted, waving excitedly at Sasuke, eyes twinkling.

He bit through his pocky quickly, turning towards Obito, "Obito–san." He nodded respectfully, eyes closing. "I hope I didn't make you wait too long?"

"Not at all, Sai–kun." Obito answered, nodding politely.

Silently, he congratulated himself for winning his self–made bet.

Yeah, he knew his cousin well, after all.

"So, I read about the concept your team came up with, it sounds very impressive. As always, I might admit." Sai began, trying to look serious for once. "I especially liked the phra–"

"The location is a very important point, since we are trying to give off the vibe of tradition mixed with modernity… the best setting would be Kyôto." Sasuke cut in, coldly, overlapping the other.

"Yes, yes, exactly! Kyôto would be perfect –cool town, is it?" Sai reaffirmed, throwing a glance sideways and allowing his smile to widen even more.

Obito tried to stifle a smile at Sai's childish attitude, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

This person never seemed to be serious, no matter what he did or what people around him thought, at least until he was behind his lens –then, Sai turned into another person. Concentrated, serious, eyes narrowed in determination, he looked and acted like the pro he was… that was what his entire reputation was about.

"Regarding the model, I wanted to play on the subject of opposites. Since our primary model has dark hair and equally dark eyes, I wanted fair hair and clear eyes for our second model. A blue eyed blonde, maybe, would be perfect." Sai explained, winking, completely opposite to the dreamy expression he usually had when talking about models.

Obito shifted his gaze to the second portion of the screen, gauging his cousin's reaction.

It was nearly invisible, but Obito noticed that the corners of Sasuke's lips were slightly lifted upwards in what could be mistaken as a smile –or maybe even a smirk.

The two of them were definitely up to something, and being the only one left out did not help in the least.

"Will you need to make a casting for the model?" He asked, fidgeting slightly in his seat.

"Yes, yes –a male and a female… I need one, maybe two models… as I said, fair hair, definitely. Height… preferably shorter than our dark beauty." Sai replied, eyes glazed over, hands shifting in ample movements as he pictured the shot in his head.

The older of the three felt an incoming migraine.

"I _want_ blue eyes –I will not accept anything else." Sai suddenly added, eyes turning sharp, from dreamy to hard. "For the rest… I'll see during the casting."

Jotting down a few notes, Obito nodded. He needed to check with the available models and sent notice of the casting, hoping to cause as minor an uproar as he could.

"Please, do check the references of each model who will appear in the casting. I won't accept beginners, nor stalkers like last time." Sasuke hastily added, eyes turning to an edge.

"Understandable, Sasuke–kun." Obito easily agreed.

He knew what Sasuke was referring to –a pick for the last campaign, around six months before. Obito had been down with the flu, five entire days spent in bed under strict doctor's order; apparently, their make–up artist had also been in the same situation. The team leader in charge decided to hire an outsider make–up artist, and she had turned out to be a stalker.

The bad kind of stalker.

It had been a huge breech in confidence, nearly costing the agency the UCHIHA contract. Obito and his lawyers had to write out a new contract with UCHIHA giving them a lot of prerogatives amongst which having the last word on the model and photographer's choice, not to mention the make–up and the worker crews.

To say Obito had never been this angered in his life was an underestimation –also considering that until that unfortunate day, he had never received complaints about his person of choice. He only hand–picked his employee, and that was his own seal of quality.

Even more unfortunate, the name of the stalkerish make–up artist had never been revealed.

At the time, he had been too upset with his team leader to care, and had quickly conduced an investigation, ending up firing the man, although with a recommendation letter –he was not that heartless. Even so, the man had been the one in charge, and it was expected of him to take the responsibility of his own failure in controlling his employees. The revelation that the make–up artist had turned out being a stalker was an irreparable loss of trust in his work for the Obito's ad.

Furthermore, Obito had made an implicit rule so that no new employee should ever be hired without his approval. He was placing his reputation on the line, after all!

"I'll be in Kyôto tomorrow afternoon." Sai interrupted Obito's musings with his cheerful voice. "I will give you some more ideas, so we can have the casting next week…"

"I want the campaign to begin as soon as possible." Sasuke intervened, narrowing his eyes. "So make sure that the models are free for the week after the casting."

Obito looked at his cousin; he was puffing out his chest in self–importance, his entire demeanour saying 'after all, who would renounce to modelling for the UCHIHA brand?'

Obito knew better –his cousin's whims would cost them quite a lot; especially since Sai was the type of person to never change his mind. If he ended up choosing a model, he would work with said model, period.

No one else.

The older of the three men signed, refusing to look weary. Could his cousin not be a bit reasonable, for once?

……………………………

"Itachi?" the voice came out loudly from the phone.

The dark haired man glanced dispassionately at the phone, that was next to him on the coffee table. His lips were set in a thin line, eyes carefully void of emotions.

"I need information." He explained curtly, looking away.

"You know I am no P.I.! I have work to do too!" Kisame ranted, his voice taking on a whining quality. "I've been unable to–"

"On a guy called Houzuki Suigetsu." Itachi continued, ignoring the person on the other end. "Quickly."

"Pfff…" Kisame loudly puffed out in the speaker.

Itachi had a clear mental image of him rolling his eyes and pouting at the same time, and shook his head to dispell it.

Itachi knew that despite everything, the older man would be working for him anyway, and he was proven right when he distinctly heard typing on the other end.

There was a short pause, then "Houzuki Suigetsu, born on November the 4th, the eight son of Houzuki Ryoutaro… mother died giving birth to him, subsequently his father neglected him. There are records of him being arrested often during his teenage hood, but he was never convicted… his record is clean. No thanks to his father, who has all but disinherited him, leaving his society divided between his seven older sons."

Itachi hummed, whilst Kisame gathered some more information.

"The guy is a third year in Lawyer school, on a scholarship. Could be potential partner, with those grades he got –he has a tendency to skip classes… baaad!!" Kisame summarized, and Itachi pictured him rolling his eyes again. "Is that all, Your Majesty?"

A glare at the phone, although heartfelt, would not quite make Kisame stop being childish, but Itachi could not stop himself –he inwardly made a note to himself to glare at Kisame next time the two met in person.

"It will do –for the moment." Itachi hesitated, glancing at the watch. "But I want a more complete report by 4."

That said, he hang up, leaning backwards in his chair.

As a first impression, he thought with a sigh, the summary had not been a good one; yet, if he judged people solely based on their pasts, he would be just like his father, which was something he vowed to never be.

Glancing at the pink paper he had stuck to the coffee table's surface, that was slightly curved, hiding most of the writing, he could still read the _'call him.'_ scribbled on the side, with a smiling face sketched next to it.

He picked the phone back up, dialling the numbers scribbled under the name.

There was a long pause, in which Itachi shifted in his seat, mentally preparing a speech, then the click of the phone.

"Yeah? Who's there?" Aa loud, earthy voice answered, followed by shuffling and something hard slamming against the side of the phone.

"My name is Itachi." He stated, waiting a second to let the name sink in. "I am a lawyer, and I just fired my secretary, so I am in dire need of a new one. You've been recommended to me by Uzumaki Naruto… He said you would be the perfect match. Would you be interested in talking this out?"

Short and to the point, Itachi heard some more shuffling on the other end.

Then "wha?" Suigetsu, who had been walking down the street with his IPod on, not a single care in the world, stopped abruptly and lost his footing, almost ending with one foot into a puddle.

Itachi felt a frown grow on his face. Maybe this had not been such a good idea, after all.

"What branch of law do you work in?" Suigetsu, shaking himself out of his stupor and collecting his wits back, went down to business. "I am specialising in Business Law and Law of Contract. If you're not in it, then I'll be sorry to say I am not interested. No matter what Naruto told you, I'm not easily moved".

His voice was clear and determined, and Itachi raised one eyebrow –the kid had guts.

"I am in the Business Law branch, specialised in Law of Contract." Itachi stated, eyes fixed on the small, pink paper.

"When can I have an interview, then?" Suigetsu smirked, still feeling quite shocked.

The dark haired man smirked.

'_Direct and to the point… no need to talk over the phone when a face–to–face is way more revealing.'_

"I have some time to spare tonight, around 6 o'clock." He answered, giving the address of the flat. "Be punctual."

"I'll be there." was the sure reply. "Have a good day, sir."

Hanging up, Itachi massaged his temples and reached for his tea cup, sipping at it only to realise it was empty.

He frowned, wondering if he had time for a refill or not; maybe he should go to the office, as his first appointment was at 9:30 a.m.

Itachi glanced at the clock again. It read 8:20.

Yes, better to get going.

……………………………

Ino looked around nervously.

Her group was having a meeting, and their boss, Kawano–san, was late. It was unlike her, as she was such a strict old coot, and it did not bide well for them, as it was.

She got promoted after their previous boss had been fired because of the Sakura deal, and she had demonstrated an attachment to her position, trying to work hard and fast and not be disposed of as well.

Ino still felt responsible for her ex–boss –he had been fired because of her suggestion to hire Sakura; had she not, nothing of this would have happened.

Plus, her ex–boss had liked Ino, and had always favoured her a bit… whilst the new boss…

The door of the office finally opened, and Kawano–san strolled in.

The new boss was a stern woman around her mid–thirties; she wore her brown dyed hair in a high, tight bun, and her eyes were hidden behind black–framed glasses. Her suit was tight and looked like it got out of the late 80's.

As her look suggested, she was efficient, and accepted no approximation in work –and despite what her fashion–retarded outfit hinted, she was a very good artistic direction, who was not afraid of playing a bit outside the box when needed.

If one where to put aside the fact that she was an arrogant, cold and heartless ambitious person, she could even be considered a good team leader.

"Ino! Stop daydreaming!" A cold, high–pitched voice interrupted Ino's inner monologue.

"Sorry, Ma'am." She replied, startled, nodding in apology.

The blonde knew she had to do her best to please her new boss.

"As I was saying," Kawano–san continued. "we are in charge of the realisation of the UCHIHA project." She looked at all her crew "We will be working with Uchiha–san, as usual, and with the photographer –Sai".

Ino looked up at the UCHIHA project; it would be definitely cool to participate, but she knew she would have no chance to actively work on its realisation. Not after…

"We will be organising a double casting for the model." Kawano–san dropped her files on the table in front of her, waking a snoozing Shikamaru in the process.

Ino grimaced as her boss talked, explaining in detail what she wanted from them, and imitated her behind her back; watching her co–workers stifle their laughter as they stared at her and then at the boss was something she liked.

"From the information I received, we will have to find one model, two at the max. no specified gender." Kawano–san continued, ignoring Shikamaru's displeased groan. "Specifics for the casting –fair hair and blue eyes".

"Why bother to look for a model, when Ino fits the characteristics just fine?" Shikamaru drawled out, barely lifting his head from the table.

"Ino will not work on this project!" The woman explained, narrowing her eyes behind the black glasses.

"Why not?" the lazy man protested, frowning. "Why waste our resources when we have a potential model already fitting the required demands here?"

"I'm the one who will be taking the final decision." Was the cold reply he got. "Ino won't work on the project –and that's final!"

"You are punishing her for your own failure." Shikamaru grumbled, muttering under his breath.

Ino looked away.

In the beginning, their ex–boss had asked Kawano–san to find the make–up artist to substitute the sick one, and when she had been unable to find one, Ino had suggested Sakura. When the stalker scandal had blown out of proportions, Kawano–san had been the next name on the 'to fire' list. Her only luck at the time was that Obito–san had been far too angry to wonder on whom the fault really befell. And instead of being fired, she got promoted.

Of course, she _was_ competent for the job –and yet… and yet, she did not stand up for their ex–boss, and it left a bad impression on everybody in the team.

For her part, Ino did what she had to, and went to talk with Obito–san; the man, with his usual warm face, smiled indulgently at her, took note of Ino's declaration –she had just told him the truth, that _she_ had been the one to recommend the make–up artist, not their boss… nevertheless, it had not changed the situation.

Their boss had been fired, Kawano–san had been promoted, and Ino got a sum kept from her salary.

"It's not worth it, Shika" Ino muttered to her friend, shaking her head.

……………………………

The doors of the huge mansion closed behind her back, sealing shut, and Miko smiled a bit, glancing around with uplifted spirits.

The house, her safe heaven, was exactly what she needed.

Miko let out a small sigh of relief; she was happy to be finally home. She had never liked the hospital –the colours, the smells, the memories...

"The doctor said you needed company." Her husband finally broke the uncomfortable silence, almost grumpily. "I will contact an agency for a lady's companion."

He hesitated for a moment, his face turning a bit sour.

"You should have told me you were feeling lonely, dear."

Miko smiled at her husband's dryness, shaking her head. He had always been like this, but to her, his grumpiness only showed how much she meant to him.

There was no need for roses, no necessity for niceties –just his honesty.

In all their lives together, he had never, not even once, lied to her. Of course, on her part, it was exactly the same –her love was as strong as it had always been.

"I do not need that kind of company," she replied firmly, gently taking his hand in hers. "I do not need some stranger intruding in my private life –no matter what the doctor say."

Her eyes caught her husband's nod, but his expression was still perturbed, so she felt the need to add something.

"I promise you, though, that I won't stay alone in this house all day long."

Higashi nodded again, vaguely reassured.

"Now, I want to talk about those papers that young Naruto–kun has troubled himself to get to you."

Her expression determined and serious, Miko sat down in the comfier chair of their sitting room, waiting for her husband to do the same. Usually, she did not intrude in her husband's dealings, especially when concerning money, but that was because Higashi took great care in explaining everything he did to her –no secret between them, as it had never been.

"I will need to find a way to thank that man. He did stay at your side until I got to you." He paused, face twisting into an angered grimace "What I don't really get is why wasn't I warned sooner?! That secretary…"

"You know perfectly well she was just following _your_ orders. Orders _you_ gave her. Didn't you fire the previous replacement already because they didn't follow through?" Miko pointed out, lifting one eyebrow at him.

"… I want a competent person working for me that can distinguish what's important and what is not without me having to point out the evidence!" He countered, still not backing down.

"You will not fire her!" She demanded, her tone hard.

"She needs to understand that she made a mistake" Higashi grunted, not looking at his wife.

"Firing her is not something Naruto–kun nor I would accept!" She affirmed, standing her ground. "I'm pretty sure Naruto–kun would be appalled if he were to find out you fired her because she was following your orders."

Higashi's shoulders fell, and he frowned, slightly pouting. The expression of a petulant child did not suit him at all, and Miko felt a smile tug at her lips.

"She will get a written blame on her company file and I will dock her salary off for this month. Is that acceptable for you?" Higashi grumpily bargained.

Miko smiled at her husband, pleased.

Yes, she always got what she wanted.

"About the papers…" She addressed the main subject again.

"They are documents about our new leaseholder." Higashi explained curtly, not wanting to detail it all out. He was sour about his secretary enough already.

"Who?" Miko questioned, knowing her husband enough to be sure that if she did not ask explicitly information, she would not get it.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Higashi answered, lips tight.

Miko frowned. Knowing her husband, he would never accept something like that –the apartment was a wedding gift to their daughter and her husband–to–be. He would never ask it back.

That meant…

"That young man is impossible! He's so… stubborn." She complained, looking to the side.

Just like after she had awoken at the hospital –she had repeatedly asked him to go back to work, but the young man had insisted he would not leave her before Higashi arrived; no matter how much they had argued, he had still refused to move.

Miko had tried to appeal to him by saying it would be bad for his job, but his reply had shocked her.

"_Bad for my job? How could I think about that right now? It's not important. I won't leave you alone here, just because I'm missing from my job!"_ Naruto had scoffed, frowning in distaste. _"Hospitals are… depressing enough as it is, without having to bear it alone…"_

"What will you do with the money of his lease?" She shook herself out of her memories and stared up at her still standing husband.

Higashi smiled knowingly, his frown relaxing.

"I will put it on a special account under his name. I arranged it with Hatake–san. When Naruto–kun will need his money, he will get it, so it'll help in whatever project he will want to realise".

Miko felt her shoulders relax, and smiled. It was just like him to think that young people would not plan ahead; but now, Miko had her doubts about Naruto being as air–headed as he looked.

Nevertheless, having money stacked aside was always a good thing.

The thought of her own daughter, lost in that big city, fell upon her shoulders, still as painful as before.

'_I hope Sakura is careful with her money.'_ She thought to herself, closing her eyes.

Miko knew that Higashi had stopped depositing money in their daughter's account, which was not as full as it should have been since Sakura had this tendency to go on shopping sprees about every month; she just hoped that what was left in the account would be enough for her little girl to live in that wretched city.

She wondered briefly if she should have been less protective of her daughter. Was it her fault for being so attached and understanding with her? Maybe she would not have gone to the city, maybe…

Miko bit down on her lower lip, remembering her own, harsh days.

Back then, the city had aided them, being where they had built their business, but it had also been where they had lost so much. Their friends, their families…

Not having the will to stop, they had moved too fast, burning their lives away, their money… like so many others did. They would not have stopped… Miko sighed.

They had been nearly destroyed by the city's lights, and she did not want her daughter to fail where in the end they had won.

Miko took a deep breath; she did not want to get lost in remembering back then, nor did she want to think about her Sakura and the mistakes she did, and the ones she would surely make in the future.

She hoped Sakura would not fall into the trap that the city posed.

……………………………

Suigetsu glared at the big building in front of him, shifting nervously his shoulders and shuffling with the hem of his jacket; he did not like wearing those goodie two shoes clothes, they looked bad on him –he felt stupid.

He scratched the back of his head, energetically messing his hair –it was still dyed, as he refused to go back to his too–normal colour. It was the only concession he made with himself… he _had_ to retain something of his original self, after all.

At least, he had not been forced to go back to that fucking boring black his father loved so much; he would have refused to even show up…

The fact was, he needed the job. It was nothing short of a miracle that Naruto knew someone who needed a secretary, and really, he would offer the blond everything he asked –yes, even ramen– to thank him for the opportunity, no matter if in the end, he would not keep the job long enough to get the first month fee.

His blond friend had given him an opportunity and he would try not to burn it away.

Straightening up, and putting on his most menacing expression, knowing that the first impression would be important, he pushed open the glass doors and entered.

Disdainfully, he looked at the secretaries as they greeted him with a nod whilst he waltzed directly to the elevators, having previously checked and re–checked the location for his appointment.

He did not stop to look around, as he knew Naruto would have done; he smirked, picturing his friend looking around, eyes big, taking in the place and the people working in.

When in the elevator, he tugged at his neck, wishing he had not decided to put on a tie, but knowing that in the long run, it would still be ok.

The doors tinged open and he exited, looking around to check for the room he had to knock on. Thankfully, there was a young–looking secretary in the near waiting room, so he strolled to him and pressed his hands on the desk, smirking up at him.

"I am Itachi-san's new Secretary." He stated, looking stern. "I was told to come here."

He had managed to be even a few minutes early, he hoped it would be enough to give a good impression –after all, despite everything, he did work accurately.

The man at the desk had a happy attitude, which kind of stood too much against the sober look of the entire building, and smiled up at him.

"You must be Houzuki Suigetsu." He said, shuffling through some files. "Kisame–san is waiting for you, if you would–" he pointed for the second door to the left.

Entering the office, Suigetsu noted quickly that the person sitting on the other end of the desk was an imposing one –he was tall, for once, with dark hair, and a look of danger around him which sent Suigetsu shivers down his back, and made him uneasy.

The man the secretary had called Kisame looked up at him and smirked, showing off pointy teeth.

"You're Suigetsu." He stated, almost predatory–like. "Come and sit down, brat, we've got a lot to talk 'bout."

Suigetsu sat down in front of the desk, shifting on his seat and waiting for the older man to speak up.

After about five minutes of complete silence, where Kisame kept looking at Suigetsu with his irritating smile, the younger of the two grunted out.

"Why am I here? I think It would be better if I start working."

Kisame chuckled.

"Patience, young padawan." He smirked, as if laughing at his own joke. "Itachi–san is not the nicest person to be around, I'm warning you. He's demanding, he's stingy and strict, not to mention picky. You have to be on par with his fickle requests, but he's one of the best in his line of work".

Suigetsu shrugged –he was not hoping for an angel to work with, he just needed a damned job.

"Here, look at these." Finally, Kisame stopped his shifting through the archive and threw Suigetsu a pack of documents. "In the next five minutes, I want you to memorize the data contained in these documents and list it down for easier ref –then, I want you to list down all evidence contained and put it in the right order. Do it quickly, these are documents I need."

Suigetsu groaned, seeing as he was not starting well at all –the man had just deliberately mixed up what looked like important stuff, just for him to sort through?

Was he just that–

"I can't see you working~" Kisame chanted, smirking at him.

With a growl, Suigetsu started off the work he had been given. Quickly, he sorted through the files all over the desk, easily memorizing the names of the clients, places, evidence, sorting them within groups and then recomposing the entire data files, every now and then glaring up at the older man, who kept staring and smirking.

He was not there to joke around, he was there to work. And he would not allow that man to make him lose such important occasion.

Muttering his way through the files, Suigetsu managed out a string of cussing that would have made a fishmonger blush in shame.

"Hmm..." Kisame, who had not really believed the young man would actually manage to sort through the files as he was doing, hummed to himself, pleased.

At least, he worked quickly and efficiently, despite the cursing, which was unsightly but Kisame did not care much.

"You really did it." Kisame stated when Suigetsu handed him the pile of documents, completely reordered.

Suigetsu grunted.

"What the hell? Of course I'd do it –wouldn't it have been a fucking problem for you if they documents were not in their perfect order? The fuck of a lawyer _are_ you?!"

"Do you think I'm such an idiot?" Kisame's smirk widened. "This is but mere copies I did when Itachi–san said he had selected someone to be his secretary –I must admit I didn't expect you to work it out this easily, though."

Suigetsu's string of insults was loud enough that even outside of the office, the secretary, who was taking an appointment for a client heard him and flushed crimson.

"Hey, brat, look at the bright side." Kisame stood up, looking down at the younger man. "I like your cheeky attitude –you've got my seal of approval, Boy!"

Kisame smirked, patting on the younger man's head and ignoring the trail of insults Suigetsu let loose. He knew he would love this new addition, definitely.

Itachi chose this moment to enter the office and glare at Kisame, blinking towards a still cursing Suigetsu. The dark haired man frowned at the display, and Suigetsu fell instantly silent, staring up at his new employer with analysing eyes.

"Oh, Itachi–san," Kisame greeted smirking wildly. "The kid is in –he's got an attitude, but he's a good one."

Itachi and Suigetsu shared a look, then Itachi quickly nodded –despite the stupidity of his usual acting, Itachi knew Kisame would never joke on his job… if he said Suigetsu was in, then he was in.

Suigetsu relaxed under the scrutiny, and as if on cue, Itachi's current client stepped through the door.

The day could officially go on.

……………………………

Ino was pacing back and forth, already annoyed –another meeting she was not looking ahead for.

The blond young woman wondered why the hell was she here; it was a meeting for the UCHIHA ad, she clearly had no part in it if she had to believe Kawano–san.

Sitting back next to Shikamaru, Ino began to nervously tap her right foot on the floor, chewing on the end of her long horsetail.

"Stop doing th't!" Shikamaru mumbled, lifting his head up from the table before letting it drop again. "You're both'rin mah sleep."

"B–but I don't know why I am here!" Ino complained, standing up again, changing idea and falling on the chair once more. "The hag said it clearly enough for everybody to understand –I wouldn't work for this project. So why am I here? Does she find it amusing, to insult me like this? She knows I would love to work on this!"

The lazy Nara sighed, closing his eyes, and Ino groaned, hiding her face in her hands. At the same moment, their boss appeared through the door, stomping to her chair in all her imperialness.

"Misses, Misters," she called their attention on her, coughing when they failed to respond too quickly.

All the team straightened up, attentive, except Shikamaru, who groaned; the boss ignored him, used to his behaviour and not wanting to bitch about it, at least not now.

"We won't need any casting." She explained coldly, eyes narrowed in displeasure.

Ino blinked in surprise, taken aback by the announcement. No casting?!

Hmmm… there was something fishy going on here.

"You will redirect your energy on finding the most fitting place for the photo–shoot here in Kyôto instead." She finished, jutting her chin up.

Motioning for Nana –the small, chubby brunette with whom Ino always talked during lunch breaks– to come over, she handed her a pile of documents.

"In those papers," She shooed at Nana, who started distributing them. "there is a description of what Sai–san wants for the location. I want this done before the end of this week!"

Shikamaru muttered his usual line of 'troublesome', and Ino sighed again, still wondering what was she doing there. The idea that Kawano–san was keeping her in the meeting just for spite was growing stronger.

Of course, Nana had not given her any file, especially after their boss had glared out at her as she tried handing one out to Ino.

"As for you, Ino." The lack of honorific meant more to Ino than the sickly polite tone the woman was using. "I've got something else for you to do".

Ino looked up, knowing that making a scene now wouldn't be for the best.

"I want you to convince the model."

She blinked. "Convince… the model?" Ino replied, incredulous.

"Exactly. Apparently, you know him." Kawano–san frowned in disgust. "I hope this time it will work out better." She spat.

Ino bit the inside of her cheek to stifle an answer.

"The name is Uzumaki Naruto." She said, throwing a file at Ino. "You _must_ have him working for us."

Ino frowned.

Naruto was certainly a very handsome guy, but he did not have the will nor the desire to become a model. He had never been interested in celebrity. He had never even dreamt to be the next Hyde or anything along that line.

Ino did not want him in this kind of environment. Naruto was way too nice for this world… she would not let him put a foot in the shark tank, if she had a choice.

"The choice is simple, Yamanaka." Her boss hissed, suddenly switching to a less amicable way of calling Ino. "You do what I order you to, or I will make sure that you do nothing but serve coffee for the rest of your career under me."

Ino looked up defiantly, as if challenging her boss to go ahead and try. She did not care. She did not want to be forced into doing something like this, she did not want Naruto to be forced into this, either!

No, for her friend Naruto, who had suffered enough already, she was even ready to lose her job.

"And I'll make your little friend's life hell." She added evilly, in a soft, low whisper, leaning forwards.

Ino paled, her head snapping around to look at Shikamaru, who was grunting in answer to every suggestion their colleagues made; no, she was not worried for him. He did not know what it meant to be under pressure, he would never care, and he was intelligent enough to get out of his job and find one better suited without a care.

Her eyes turned to Nana. Nana, the clumsy Nana. No, she would not resist. She was easily bullied because she cried easily –that was the reason why Ino had taken her under her wing. Nana, she would never resist.

Ino bit her lip hard, hating the choice she had to make. It was either Nana, or Naruto –but Naruto could stand it. She knew him well, it would hurt her to do this, but he could do it. If things really went down the drain with him, she would try to find a way out. But for now…

She looked up again, feeling blood drain out from her face.

"What's your choice?" Kawano-san asked smugly, knowing she had won.

Ino gritted her teeth glaring at her boss.

"As if I really had a choice to begin with." Ino spat.

……………………………

Miko wondered briefly how this had happened.

Today, she had ended up giving advice to Naruto–kun like she would have to a son.

Was it because she missed her daughter so much? Was she trying to take a replacement for her in the person Sakura had also left behind, the person she had loved?

The same questions kept coming back to her, no matter what; she had yet to find a satisfactory answer, either.

First, she had justified it by saying that she was paying Naruto back for his help, for his constant presence… It had sated her as a reason for their first lunch together. But the reasoning had turned to be untrue after their second lunch together.

Then, she had thought it because he had been part of Sakura's life, because they had loved each other, because Naruto had loved Sakura so much… some sort of a link to her. But they never approached the subject when they ate together.

Just Miko and Naruto. The two of them, and that was it.

Sakura was never mentioned, her presence was not hovering on them.

And she realised that, if the link between Naruto, Sakura and herself had been there, it had long since broken.

Lately, she had deluded herself that it was her strong need for company that made her go to those lunches, spend some quiet time with the person who could have been her son–in–law… she could stop anytime.

And that had turned to be untrue today; when Ino had asked to eat lunch together, she had bluntly refused without a second thought, as she had already had one planned with Naruto–kun, and she would never miss it.

Having said it loudly made Miko realized that in the last weeks, she had never planned anything that could hinder or prevent one of her lunches with Naruto. She looked forwards to them, almost even waiting in baited breath for that time to come…

She enjoyed their time together.

Her Thursday morning Tea ceremony had been moved to Friday afternoon because it had often shortened her lunch time.

Her ikebana class was moved from midday to early morning.

She had even shortened her 11 o'clock small talk –she refused to call it gossiping– with her neighbors.

No, Naruto was not simply the nice guy who had saved her; nor was he the link to her daughter, and even less a lady's companion.

No.

He was like a son to her.

Miko smiled to herself, finally able to accept that.

He _had_ become a son to her. The son he was meant to become marrying her daughter, only with a stronger bond.

Not so long ago, she would have been outrageously angry if one had told her that that a blond, blue eyed Chite would be her ideal in-law. That she would come to enjoy, and even wait for their time together. But it was true.

When she had first met –or rather, _seen_– him at her daughter's first middle school festival, she had immediately classified him as a delinquent with his blatantly dyed blond hair, his impossibly blue eyes and those unrefined hideous lines drawn on his cheeks. She had thought he had entered the school mainly with the help of rich parents' connections –nothing too outrageous but something Miko frowned on.

Why bother a child and put them under pressure, if they obviously did not want to succeed?

He was a little delinquent, a bad influence for her daughter. She did not want her sweet, lovely Sakura to be driven astray by the likes of him.

A little later, when he managed to enter the same high standard High School as Sakura –gaining the only Scholarship offered in the process– she had accepted that he had to be an intelligent child.

She had considered that as his only positive point.

She had been really unhappy when Sakura decided to go out with Naruto-kun. She had chosen not to veto that relationship to let Sakura make her own mistakes –after all, it could not hinder her future anyway.

She would drop him off. She would surely see he was not for her.

Miko had nevertheless ordered an investigation on Naruto's past. Discovering that he was an orphan did not changed Miko's opinion a bit –she had never been one to accept pity and she would never lower herself so much as to pity someone else.

That young man was still not good enough for her Sakura. Not educated enough, not refined enough.

Knowing his hair and eyes were natural was just another something Miko had been happy to ignore. It did not matter.

When her little girl had announced them that she would marry that little no–name, Miko had finally started having a bad feeling for it.

She just knew that this _blondie_ would hurt her little princess.

She had been sure, from the height of her age and maturity, that Naruto was a leech and would run away before the beginning of the ceremony.

Then, Miko had been quite pleased to be proven wrong when she saw him standing in front of the temple ready for the marriage, even having covered those hideous scars of his.

She had reassured herself, with the typical reasoning of a mother having to deal with a disobedient child, that no, he would not break her precious little girl's heart. Maybe she had been wrong in her judgement. She had to confess that it would be the first time.

She had been exited at seeing her little girl in a grow–up beautiful white Kimono for her marriage.

'_Like a dream come true.'_

Miko had not been able to wear the beautiful traditional gown herself. Due to lack of money they never had a wedding ceremony. And she had been delighted to know that her little cherry blossom wanted a traditional marriage with the traditional gown.

When she had seen Naruto and the effort he had put on for her princess, she had been sure that nothing would go astray. She hoped, like any mother would, that things would be better for her daughter and the son–in–law Sakura had chosen.

She had been mortified to see that her daughter was the unrefined one who decided not to show up.

That Sakura, her cute, little Sakura, had broken her mother's trust, her father's pride, and her soon–to–be–husband's heart, by choosing a stupid ideal over her marriage.

Haruno Miko, for the first time in her entire life, had felt her heart broke in her chest. Nothing ever managed to make her lose so much faith in herself until her daughter had betrayed her.

Her little princess…

After that, she had not been able to think of her daughter without feeling her heart squeeze at the reminder of Sakura's attitude. Her mind noticing more and more all the little things she had tried to ignore that made her image of Sakura less and less perfect.

She could not help but feel responsible for Naruto–kun's broken heart.

But now, the feeling had lessened.

And that was all thanks to Naruto himself.

The young man did not seem to have even thought of giving her any responsibility for her daughter's attitude.

And for that Miko was ever so grateful.

……………………………

Itachi looked up at the barely visible clock glittering on the bottom right of his computer screen, eyes narrowing.

18.49 pm.

The door opened suddenly and Suigetsu swirled in, expression unreadable.

"There!" Suigetsu let a pile of files fall with a loud thump on Itachi's desk. "Your fucking files!"

Itachi looked up at his secretary –the one he had ended up hiring. He was the best of all the secretaries he had ever had –punctual, meticulous and hard working. He knew exactly what to do and when to do it… and what was best, he did not moon over him.

The down side of it all was his bad mouthing.

Suigetsu was easily caught by his emotions, and if something irked him, he was quick to mouth it off, to everyone to hear. Even when satisfied, he would grunt and mutter over it, with a smirk of pride.

But Itachi did not care about his mouth as long as he was not talking this way to his clients, which surprisingly was not the case… Suigetsu had the most reliable face and speech pattern when it came to greet and reassure people they would win.

"You're 50 minutes after the scheduled time." Itachi reprimanded, barely looking up at his secretary.

Itachi watched with the corner of his eyes as Suigetsu growled in anger, his cheeks colouring, and smirked.

He _loved_ to push people around at work. Especially when they were, like Suigetsu, competent and competitive. It helped keeping them on their heels.

"What time is the H&K case?" Itachi asked preparing to leave, putting the files in his attaché-case.

"2.00 p.m." Suigetsu answered without bothering to check his eyes trained on his employer.

Itachi smirked.

"You'll help me in this case." Itachi explained, managing to convey the importance of this to the younger man. "After all, you _did_ make all the research."

Suigetsu gasped out, completely taken aback, just like Itachi had hoped he would react. Satisfied above any satisfaction, he turned around.

"Don't be late." He added as an extra measure, exiting his office.

Strolling out of the building, the dark haired man looked at his watch; he was a little late, but maybe he could catch Naruto at that bar the blond had mentioned he would be going to after his meeting.

He frowned suddenly, realising he had closed everything up in order to actually _get_ to that bar.

He had never acted this way with anyone.

None of his ex-partners had ever had the honour of making him change his habitual patterns of life for them, no matter how much they pleaded, no matter how much they argued.

There had been older, lavished women who never accepted no as an answer.

There had been younger, inexperienced and clingy women who had a stick too far up their expensively clothed ass to understand the meaning of no.

But Itachi could not have cared less about that. He had ignored their pleas to get out of work earlier, to take them out more often; even though he had been dependant of them for his living arrangement, he had no qualms in breaking up with them when they became too demanding, too attached. That was how he had found himself living in a hotel so often.

But there he was, changing his habits for someone he had not even taken to bed yet. Someone who did not even know Itachi… fancied him.

Getting out of work this early had never happened before –and it had been going on for a couple of weeks.

Regularly having abundant meals either.

Also, not having a banshee making a scene to him every time he grunted instead of answering a question, either.

Maybe he should have gone after males sooner. They were way less problematic than woman, less clingy, less demanding, more understandable.

He wondered what he would do to his little blond tonight, what could they talk about, what could he say to rile him up a bit.

What delightful reaction would he get out of him to reward him for his actions?

The man seemed to be so oblivious to Itachi's approaches.

No matter how bold Itachi was, Naruto was oblivious.

Slight touches, the feathery contact of fingers against a shoulder, bare skin against bare skin, entering the bathroom purposely when Naruto was taking his bath…

Even offering him juicy foods had failed hard.

Itachi wondered if he should be more aggressive, a smirk appearing on his face as he exited the building.

Yeah, maybe it was time to go less subtle.

……………………………

**To be continued**

……………………………

Thanks For reading! ^^

Today, I'm going to UK for work for severals months. I do not know if I'll have access to internet as often as now. But I'll try to come up and answer each review.

So please Review! It will give me something else to look forward to there.

PS: Chapter 9 is with co-author, the update date will thus depend on my internet access and of her will to write.


	10. Chapter 9

Hello,

I do not own Naruto nor Long Vacation

This chapter has been co–authored, with much pain and sufferance, by **StarsOfYaoi**, who is severely guilty for her lack of participation and overall laziness. She might even ask to be removed as co–author as she doesn't deserve it.

Thanks to all the darling reviewers: **hanakisa;**** rianifitria; Erroneously; shadow (leave me a contact** so I can answer your review ^^ thanks for the review); **Vuurvlieg; cutsycat; fan girl 666; Stargazer **X2 (kind of yes thanks for the review); **Imperial Mint; KeRaGoLiH; DarkRavie; Ella1331; itachisgurl93; Bella216** (If you leave me a contact I can answer your review but thanks for the review anyway); **LovelyLittleAngel: Migi **(I know.... I did 7 years of German and that's one of the few things I remember with the movie 'Run Lola Run' thanks for the review); **quaero lumen; Barranca; Regin; darke wulf; xxxXXXSMILEXXXxxx; yue no rei; phycoticlover04; narurahatake; Kichou; ProudSakuraHater **X2 (please leave me a contact so I can answer your review. Thanks for reading and reviewing); **sesshoumaru4me; mione the kneazle; minyaka14; Book Mad TJ** X2**; Circinus** X2 (Thanks little non-reviewer :D); **Isisx; BrokenBloodDrops; EvilPopcorn; Lightly** (leave me a contact and I'll answer your review next time, thanks for the review :D); **bonbons08; breaker99; crayontesla; little black lamb** (If you leave me a contact I'll answer your review. Thanks for reviewing); **Sesshomarubaby18; Kags21** X4; **InzanityRulz; bluecrystal angel; Lulu67; fatcat91** (if you want an answer to your review leave me a contact. Thanks for the review); **forgot to breathe** X2; **FallenPie** X3; **Fire Dolphin; ****mikaku; ****Petshop** (leave me a contact so I can answer your review. Thanks for the review); **Disgruntled Minion; Missy1393; yukino89; Sarla **(leave me a contact and I'll answer your review. Thanks for reviewing.); **kkm-crazyfan24 **X2; **Bloody Fang - Your NightMare; Mischievious Kitsune; tactless n' lovin it; Anon and anon****.**

Thanks to all those I bothered and are still reading this story. No I'll have less time to bother you.

……………………………

**Long Vacation**

**Chapter 9**

……………………………

Naruto was surprised to see Itachi entering the bar.

Yes, he had been the one mentioning about going to that place after the meeting, but he would never have thought that Itachi would really come, in the end; the tall man really stood out in the middle of the usual crowd, and Naruto's eyes were attracted to him like a moth to a flame.

A fleeting smile appeared on his lips as the dark haired beauty softly whispered a greeting in his ear, before walking off to the counter.

He really liked Itachi's company.

"Hmmm –is that your new BF?" Ino whispered, leaning forwards and elbowed Naruto with a slight smirk.

Shoulders tensing suddenly, Naruto forced his attention away from the firm, delicious behind of his co-leaser to stare at his friend. "My what?"

"Boyfriend… lover, whatever. Since when are you two together? Why didn't you tell me~?" Ino was almost squealing, hiding her mouth with one hand and giggling. "He's so hot! Were you worried that I would make him turn his head to me? Ooooh, that's it~! You were worried I'd steal your boyfriend away!"

"B… b–boyfriend?!" Naruto's cheeks flushed a healthy red colour and he looked down at his hands, gulping his uneasiness away. "A–a–away?"

Ino stole another look at Itachi, then shook his head, adding almost in a teasing way:

"Don't worry~ I won't hunt in your territory, I promise…"

"N–n–no! No, no! He's not… he's n–not my boyfriend, all right?" Naruto spluttered, yet his eyes fell once more to Itachi's rear, and his face turned an even deeper crimson, betraying his uneasiness at the whole situation.

"Aww, you know you can tell me, I won't betray your trust~" The blond woman cooed.

Naruto was speechless for a moment, but a glance to Ino and her widening grin and he knew he could not let her think whatever she wanted –he had to destroy any misconception and daydream the fake blonde might have.

Even if Itachi was amazingly hot, and his rear was one to die for, and those eyes of his were so deep and mesmerizing, and…

But Itachi was not his boyfriend, nor his lover, nor anything else other than the person he shared a rent with. That was all.

"Ino, he's not my boyfriend!" Naruto stated firmly, taking a big gulp of his non-alcoholic drink.

"… of course not…" Ino's tone was that of someone who clearly didn't believe a word of what the other had said.

……………………………

The music was loud –so loud that Sakura could barely hear the bartender asking her what she wanted to drink.

She glanced around for a moment, then turned to the man "a Monaco, please". It was her favorite alcoholic beverage.

It had been a little less than a month since she had arrived there, in Tokyo, and she could easily say she had adapted to the new environment perfectly; things could not be better, actually –she was à la mode, she was integrated with the life of the city, she was beautiful… yes, it was just perfect.

Taking the drink the bartender had placed down on the counter, she took off the horrible, nearly transparent plastic lid, throwing it onto the nearest table without a care.

Yes, of course, she understood the need of those lids, but they were so hideous.

Sakura glanced around, eyes scanning the crowd until she finally noticed an empty table in a corner, and she moved to get there before anyone else could, her ass swaying lightly as she reached the seat, feeling the eyes of many men on her.

Sitting down and glaring morosely at her pink nails, glittering under the lights of the bar, Sakura let out a long, suffering sigh; she was alone. She _hated_ being alone –yes, she was in Tokyo; yes, she was beautiful and perfectly into the whole setting, and yet…

A pout.

Kyoto might have been less chic, with less glamour and spotlight, but she had friends there –friends she could talk with whenever she wanted to, friends who would listen to what she said, and come if she asked them to. But here, in Tokyo, things were different: she could not do that.

At least not yet.

She took a long sip of her drink, rapping her fingers on the neat surface.

"Hey, Sakura?"

Turning her head to the left, a smile blossoming on her face, Sakura felt her bad mood disappear.

A friendly face, at last!

"Hana?!"

She stood up and waved, greeting her old friend with happiness.

It was truly a total surprise to see Kiba's sister in this bar –a very 'in' bar, actually– but not an unpleasant one.

She had heard that Hana had left home to study in Tokyo, as she had always bragged around her desire to become a veterinarian, and Sakura could recall she had even won a scholarship for that.

Kiba had complained about his mother giving him even more work at home because of that, yet in his word there was an undertone of pride that Sakura had felt envious for: her own parents had long since ceased to speak about her with that kind of pride, and it had made her even sourer.

"What are you doing here?" Hana asked, smirking and taking the seat in front of Sakura. "Are you here for work? Gods, it has been so long since I spoke with one of the old crew."

"Love." Sakura replied, smiling brightly.

Finally there was someone she could talk to, even if it was Kiba's fashion-retarded sister. Honestly, people in Tokyo were not as easy-going as she had thought they would be, in the end. For example, her colleagues: Kimiko, the wardrobe keeper, who was a gossiper with everybody, yet for whatever reason, never seemed to talk when Sakura was around; Kumi, the hairdresser, she would gladly discuss about work with her, yet refuse any invitation coming from Sakura to go out for a drink.

"Naruto got transferred?" Hana furrowed her brows, unknowingly interrupting Sakura's train of thoughts.

"Not that I know of," Sakura stated, matter-of-factly.

"I don't understand, I saw the invitation card to your marriage last time I went back home. You know, on Kiba's desk: Square piece of paper, pink and frilly, if I remember correctly. It was even rose-scented!"

Looking to the side, Hana tapped her chin with a finger, trying to recall the card.

"That marriage didn't take place, in the end" Sakura rolled her eyes.

As if she could have married Naruto for real, come on!

"Huh? It didn't?" Hana was really surprised now.

She had always heard Kiba muttering of how in love Naruto was, how smitten with Sakura he was.

"He wasn't… he wasn't the right man for me, that's all!" Sakura sniffed coldly, looking to the side.

This was not really the subject Sakura wanted to talk about, but at least she was talking. It was good enough.

Glancing at Hana, she could just see the wheels spinning in her head, and Sakura knew that the older woman would not ask any question, and come instead to a logical conclusion.

"I wouldn't have thought that of him, of Naruto, I mean" Hana huffed out, clearly disappointed.

Sakura's eyebrow shot upwards.

How in the world did Hana come to that conclusion?

It was certainly the less logical reason for having a marriage cancelled, and surely many others would have been more immediate, at least to Sakura's mind.

Hana had been in several bad relationships before -that Sakura could remember- whilst she was in Kyoto. Kiba had taken a habit of moaning about it over and over with Naruto, and of course Sakura had to suffer through that, too. But Hana had known Naruto for years, and if anything else, Sakura believed Hana would have never interpreted things that way.

Shrugging, she did not see fit to correct Hana's assumption –it was her fault for thinking it like that, not hers. Wrong conclusion and all.

Sakura leaned back into her chair, taking another sip of her drink, humming and tilting the glass a bit, licking the sugar on the hem of the glass.

"What about you?" She asked, trying to change the subject after a far too long silence.

The subject was closed, at least for her, and she hoped Hana would take the hint and stop asking her about Naruto, and stop thinking too badly about him, too.

He wasn't, he would have never done anything to hurt Sakura.

But he was not Sasuke, so he was not the right person for her. That was the truth, and nothing more.

Of course, Hana was not important enough to know all of that. She was just someone Sakura could talk with, release some stress, and finally relax.

Hana looked at her for a moment, a smile blossoming on her face -a compassionate one.

Sakura gritted her teeth hard, twitching her lips upwards even though she wanted nothing more than stand up and leave the table instead: she hated pity, especially towards herself, but she was sad and lonely, and even someone as untactful as Hana would do to relieve her loneliness.

So she had to make a happy face, and let everything slide.

'_What a silly girl…'_

Sakura let out a soft sigh, pulling her cell phone out.

……………………………

Minato looked through the window of his taxi, observing the rapidly changing scenery with vague interest; it felt somewhat good to be back in Japan, almost like a relief, if only momentary.

Still, it was like he was running away from his pain, and admitting this to himself only made the pain rush back again.

What a joke he was!

And to think that people looked up at him for his courage, admiring him, even worshipping what he did.

He was nothing more than a fool, who could not even stand still to face his pain and fight it away.

Minato let out a bitter laugh, unable to stop thinking about all the mistakes he had made in the past; they were so many, each one more painful than the previous.

Letting his parents down to go with a person who claimed to love him, just to be left behind himself as she went off somewhere, abandoning him a mere few weeks later.

He knew he had never truly loved that woman, even back then he had been aware of that: it was like a bug at the back of his mind, telling him what a mistake it had been. Proof enough, he had never bothered to look for her after her disappearance.

He had moved off to New Jersey instead, to follow an architecture curriculum at Princeton and do what he wanted to, regardless of what his parents might have wanted, what they might have wished him to do. It was easier than humbly admit he had been wrong. It was easier than accept how ridiculous his life had turned out to be.

The spite of a teenager rebelling against his parents, no matter how much love they had showered him with.

His parents, whom had been ignored by him over and over again, ignoring their pain, their wishes, their desires, all for his own future.

And what a future it was!

No, it had not turned out bad: he was someone, after all. Someone his parents could be proud of.

But he had never bothered to call them after he left, not even once, not wanting to drop them a word, not even daring to write to them.

At school, he had worked hard to be the very best, people falling for him, admiring him, looking up to him, only words of pride and admiration had been spoken of his courage for living his country behind, for leaving his _family_ behind -how envious they were of his success.

Even afterwards, he had worked hard, yet all he could think of was how bad of a son he had been.

Shamed for never gathering enough courage to call them, until it was too late -until the only thing he had left was a letter written many years before, for him, left to wait, and wait...

His life had been nothing but a failure in that sense, or at least it had been until Rin.

Rin!

Rin had been the best thing that had happened to him. She had given him his pride back, she had given him a family. A new family, not his old one, but a family nonetheless.

She had taught him so much, offering love and even more love.

The thought of his late wife made Minato release a shaky breath, his hands trembling so hard he had to clench them into fists, and even then, they did not stop trembling.

He had lost her.

And with her, he had lost the last of his family. He had nothing left to live for now, other than his work.

The car stopped in an empty street in front of a building with tall, forbidding cherry-tree double doors. Minato took a moment to collect himself before stepping out of the car, closing his eyes and turning his face upwards, allowing the heat of the sun to bathe him, drying up the tears that were now falling down his cheeks.

It felt good: the sun was warm, forgiving, benevolent. He had to think this, and he could not let his past control him anymore. He had to look forwards. Escaping his pain, for now, was the only way he could cope with it.

Taking a deep breath and feeling his lips stretch into a small, painful yet real smile, Minato once again straightened up. He had to meet the Haruno family, and a dinner should not be too much of a problem for him, more so since it was an informal one.

His knuckles rapped softly on the wood of the door, and it was not even a minute later that a young maid opened up for him, smiling warmly.

"Namikaze–san, right? Enter, please".

She welcomed him with a small wave of her hand, guiding him inside and shutting the door close behind his back.

Minato felt his muscles relax a bit. He had not even realised how tense he had been, yet now he could feel a slight pain in his shoulders.

"Can I take your jacket?" the maid asked politely, bowing.

He shrugged it off and handed the vest to the maid, sliding his shoe off as well and putting on the sleepers the young woman was offering him.

"Namikaze–san?"

He turned around, and was greeted by the sight of a woman wearing a beautiful lush kimono, smiling at him with warmth.

"I'm Mrs Haruno, but you can call me Miko, if you wish to".

A rush of bitterness and guilt overwhelmed Minato for a moment, as he stared at a woman whose appearance was that of a person attached to tradition -much like his own mother had been.

"I… I'm Minato… please, I mean, call me Minato" He said, stumbling over his words.

He followed in silence as the woman lead him through a maze of halls and corridors, until she opened an oak door and stepped to the side, inviting him to go through with a gentle smile.

He moved forwards, looking around in amazement.

There was a small lacquered table in the middle of the room, typical Japanese-styled, with four soft cushioned-chairs without legs surrounding it; each chair had a beautiful decoration on their backs, a flower motif in black and red.

The walls were decorated with scroll-paintings, the one on the wall right in front of him that of an evanescent forest with fading trees, and a mountain barely visible behind them; he was not an expert in Japanese art, but the sight was beautiful, touching something deep inside him.

A second scroll on the left had some writing on it, the style that of ancient Japanese, probably reciting an haiku or something.

The panels at the back of the room were opened, offering a look on a Zen garden, its grey sand neatly raked, dotted with darker pebbles. Minato observed it carefully, as he liked that kind of garden and had always had the urge to go and dig into the sand with his hands, to feel it drip smoothly between his fingers: he had indulged this urge more than once when younger, in his father's garden.

It had always caused a fond smile to blossom on his mother's face, and a dark scowl on his father's whenever he did so.

Minato closed his eyes to take a deep breath and vanquish any image of his mother from his brain. He would have to face his memories sooner or later, but he would rather have it later.

He opened his eyes again to see two men enter the room from another door. He obviously recognised one as Mr. Haruno who, for the first time since meeting him, had a smile on his face. The second man was younger, blond, and was the clear reason Mr. Haruno was smiling.

And…

Minato's heart stopped beating for a moment, his lungs constricting in his chest.

That young man, he, he looked so much like him -and like _her_.

It could not be possible, Could it not?

The same kind of hair, the same eyes. That smile, even!

How could a smile be that haunting?

Minato could not look away, his head spinning wildly.

Kushina's.

Yes, Kushina had left him without a word, but...

She would have never done that to, to him.

Right?

She knew he wanted children. They had talked so much about it -they had even argued about the names they would give to the kids: Minato had wanted Naruto for a boy, Yukiji if it was a girl, just like his mother. Kushina had always wanted a son to name him Kyuubi, like the demon of the legend.

Yes, it was not a real name, but it was her desire to call her baby so anyway.

They had been serious about it, too -talking about what features they would love their children to have: Minato had always dreamed of a baby with Kushina's beautiful red hair, and the shape of her eyes, too, because they were so beautiful.

It might have been early to talk about that, but Minato had found a similar soul in Kushina, and things had been so right to talk about with her.

He had been young, just out of high school, and he had felt on the top of the world, so 'in love' with Kushina, he would have done anything for her, no matter the situation, no matter what!

Had he not proved it over and over? Leaving his parents, renouncing to university to run away with her.

Looking more closely to the young man, Minato noticed all the small details -the eye-shape, the skin tone, his hands: they were just like Kushina's. He could still remember every detail about her, even after so much time spent with his dear Rin.

How could one forget their first real love, after all?

Even if he was certain he had never loved her now, at least once he had believed that.

But his eye colour, the unique shade of his blond hair, the build: all of this matched Minato. Even his expressions, that open smile!

How could Kushina! Had she really done something as horrible as this?

Why could , Mrs Haruno not… Even that young man now staring at him, smiling so openly… how could they not notice?

"Allow me to introduce you… this is Uzumaki Naruto, a dear friend of the family." Mrs Haruno told him, smiling. "Naruto–kun, this is Namikaze Minato–san".

The young man was beaming as they shook hands, and soon enough was talking, that smile still directed towards him.

And all Minato could think of was that this man, this young man in front of him, was his son.

……………………………

Ino was tired.

Really, really tired.

She had had a very hard week, all considered, and she had enough.

All week long, her boss had berated her for her inefficiency: apparently, it was her fault if the UCHIHA did not choose the model nor the place amongst the team's possible selections, and that had ticked her boss off.

She had to grit her teeth hard to not answer back and offer her the perfect opportunity to fire her, that damned woman!

Shikamaru had snidely remarked that it was clearly karma biting back her ass, as Sakura and her had been kind of like bullies back when they were younger, and this was just payback for all the problems they had caused others.

As an answer, Ino had emptied her cold coffee all over Shikamaru's head, rejoicing in hearing his squeals of distress and disgust as she had left the room, not looking back.

Unfortunately, the problem had remained. And even more, her boss had decided to deliver a punishment to teach her 'team spirit', since she so clearly lacked it: at least for that damn woman's point of view. She became the bottom woman for the team for the rest of the week, having to do whatever others wanted, without a word in.

Her boss had yapped every second of the day -it had been three long, really long days- ordering her around, messing with her head, demanding the most degrading things, all the mundane chores.

Run back and forth to get coffees for all the employees, print piles of documents, note down what the team wanted for lunch and go buy it: things that usually were shared among all the team were now solely on her.

She had been running around like a headless chicken for so long that her feet hurt, and that was just the icing on the cake.

Fortunately, the week took a turn for the better when Wednesday in the late afternoon: Naruto had come running to her, taking her hand and dragging her off to a conference room, where THE boss had been sitting, an amused smile on his handsome face, together with two other men she did not know -Ino had not even time to wonder who they were, because Naruto had gently pushed her towards the front.

"You want a second model, right?" he had asked boldly, nodding towards her.

A guy she had then recognised as the famous Photographer Sai smirked, whilst Uchiha Sasuke had just stared in an unimpressed way at them.

"Well, here she is! I'm working with her, or I won't be working with you!" The smug tone Naruto had used should have amazed or at least worried Ino, but she just stood there eyes wide.

Sai had stared at her from head to toe quite literally –from her bleached hair to the bottom of her toes- eyes narrowing for a moment, fingers twitching.

"Do something for your feet! I'm considering barefoot shoots, blisters are out of question." He had stated, scoffing. "Please re-color your hair, this shade is nice but the roots are too visible for my taste."

He had then proceeded to test her 'compatibility' -whatever that meant- by pulling her left and right between Naruto and _the_ Uchiha Sasuke, contrasting their skin color, their builds, their eyes -Well, in her case, her colored lenses- and then, after a few, tense minutes, he had announced that it was satisfying -he had agreed.

And thus, she had ended up in a bar, celebrating with Naruto and Shikamaru, the only person in the team who had stayed overtime with her.

Even better, she had had the pleasure of meeting the most perfect man in the whole world, with a firm ass and a good head on his shoulders –and a job to die for, at that. And Ino just knew it, he was made for Naruto.

She had taken part in destroying and rebuilding him, and she took pleasure in watching him shine brighter than ever before -that smile of his, his chattering without care, like he had done once with Sakura, maybe even happier than back then.

The next day had felt like falling from the seventh heaven to the seventh layer of hell in one single trip, worst than any hang-over Ino had ever had. She thought that the first few days of the week had been Hell, but it had been nothing more than a walk in the part, compared to what her boss made her go through afterward.

Apparently, her boss had been called to Obito-san's office, reprimanded for not having added Ino to the cast, as she fit perfectly into the description of the model for the UCHIHA's campaign. That meant she had taken her anger out on Ino, sending her to the archives under the pretense that the modeling branch needed help, as they were so overworked…

She had to sort every file of every model they had ever worked with in the last year, from the most to the least popular, taking into account the number of years or months they had been working with the Modeling branch of the corporation and list it all.

The next day, Ino had to call the 'less useful' models' artistic agents to either terminate their contract, or impress the need for the model to get a contract as soon as possible, hopefully during the following month -or else.

Ino hated it.

Crushing people's hopes and dreams for profit!

She understood it was a necessity for the survival of the agency, and she knew they had to be merciless with the ones who were less likely to get a contract, but still!

The result was that she had to stay after-hours, discussing things with angry, equally overworked, agents, and it was only 10 PM when she managed to finally go back home, not nearly as late as it could have been -by her standards, at least- but as tired and exhausted as Ino was, it was far later than she had hoped.

And on top of that, she had to walk home barefoot to avoid blisters.

Her bed had never looked more inviting as she let herself flop down onto it, moving her toes freely, needing -_wanting-_ a hot shower, but unable to gather enough strength to move again.

About to finally drift off, sleep tugging at her eyebrows, sweet, lulling… when her phone started ringing, abruptly pulling her back to reality; groaning, she blindly groped around to get her phone and click it on.

"Yeah…" She answered, tiredness vibrating through her hesitant, lethargic tone.

"It's me, Sakura" was the answer.

Ino let out an annoyed sigh.

Of course it was Sakura -she had never changed that damned ring-tune, they had chosen it 'together': one of those sappy tunes Sakura worshiped and Ino detested. Sakura had argued that putting a song Ino hated as her ring-tone would be the best way to make sure Ino answered quickly.

In a way, she was right.

"I was wondering how you were doing?" Sakura's voice was light, happy.

"Good."

Not exactly the truth, but not a lie either. The answer came out more forcefully than she would have wanted, though.

"You?"

"… Fine. I was calling to ask you something."

Ino rolled her eyes, almost giving in to the temptation to sleep anyway. She knew Sakura would not have called her out of the goodness of her heart -she had barely messaged her in the last month, nothing more than once every week or so, whilst when in Kyoto, the two would have called each other every day, and go out every night, too.

"… Go ahead." She mumbled, tracing invisible patterns on the pillow.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about the new AD campaign of UCHIHA." Sakura asked, clearing her throat.

Ino suddenly felt all her sleep vanish, and sat up in a flash.

"What?"

"I know that they are working with Obito's AD again for this campaign." Sakura added, helpfully.

"No, Sakura -no, no. No. you can't ask me that. You can't! I've nearly lost my job last time!" Ino stood up and started pacing, almost panicking. "Sakura, no!"

"It's important for me." here it was again -the pleading tone Ino hated.

She bit her lower lip, not knowing what to say.

On one hand, she wanted to be egoistic and tell her friend to fuck off -she had hurt one of her other friends, she had compromised Ino's job, Ino's future, all for her stupid crush, because this was not love, this was an obsession, this was…

On the other hand, her friend, her dearest friend, was in need, desperate to get the person she was sure she loved…

Was it worth to destroy her own career for her friend? For that ridiculous crush of hers?

Could Ino take that choice once again?

"… I won't tell you." Ino was almost surprised at how firm her voice was. Almost.

"Are… are you trying to keep me away from my love?!" Sakura's tone changed from nice to aggressive in the span of seconds. "You're like… you're like all the others! You're like all of them! You're keeping him away from me! His rightfully life partner!"

Ino cringed.

"No, Sakura. Absolutely not!" she sighed. "You're my best friend!"

"You have to tell me, then! If I'm your friend, you have to tell me! How can you be so selfish and let me suffer like this?!"

Her voice had taken on a desperate, broken tone -hurt, almost close to tears.

Ino knew exactly what Sakura was doing -trying to guilt trip her. But it would not work. It would not!

"I love him, Ino… you know what he means to me!"

Low, pleading, Sakura's voice entered Ino's brain even against her will.

'_No… I can't-'_

"I'm suffering so much when I'm away from him… he's the only one who can make me happy… Ino, you know you want to help me… let me reunite with him -let me have a chance… Please!"

Ino stood frozen, facing the wall, for a long while.

Her fingers trembled as she clutched the phone to her ear.

"He's in Kyoto. Sasuke is… is in Kyoto. Don't… don't ask me more."

Under such a pressure, Ino cracked, feeling tears burn their way to her eyes.

"Thanks, Ino~ I love you!"

Sakura hung up.

Ino was left listening at the tuneless beeping of the phone, staring down at her trembling hand, drawing a shaky breath after the other.

'_What have I done?'_

She let her body fall back on the bed, shivering.

……………………………

"Tsunade–sama! You have mail!" Shizune informed, pushing her way inside the small back-office, balancing precariously a pile of craft envelops.

"You're quite popular today, huh!" Jiraiya exclaimed, looking at the mountain of mail, eyes shifting to look at Shizune's behind as she turned around, leaving the office to go back to her own job.

"I'm always popular, you idiot!" Tsunade retorted, jutting her chest forwards.

"With creditors." Jiraiya mumbled under his breath, eyes glued to Tsunade's rack.

"What did you say?"

A glare, followed by her folding her arms over her chest. Ah, what a waste.

"Nothing, nothing!" The white haired pervert backed away from her, cowering in fear. "I was just asking myself what all those mails are about?"

"Omiai(1) proposals."

Jiraiya blinked, caught by surprise.

"For you? You're way over the age limit, you know that right? Even with all those creams you're using, you can't pass for someone younger than 30, at least." He replied without thinking.

He knew he had made a mistake immediately, as Tsunade's fist came crashing on his head.

"Ouch! Ouch! If it's truth, it hurts!" He muttered again, nursing his aching head.

Tsunade cracked her knuckles, preparing to pummel him to the ground.

"Ah- I mean, you're such a wonderful, beautiful, youthful, gorgeous woman, you don't need such… stupid, useless things as Omiai, any men would be crazy not to fall under your thrall!"

Lying through his teeth had never been such a matter of life and death as it was for Jiraiya right then, so it was excused. Surely it was.

Leveling him with a glare, Tsunade huffed and picked a letter, opening it.

"It's not for me, anyway -idiot!"

"Is it for Shizune then?"

Tsunade returned her glare of doom at him, clearly angry; to his eyes, Shizune who was in her early forties could pass for a twenty years old woman, and she could _not_?! This was outrageous! She could so pass as a young scantily clad bimbo in her prime if she wanted to!

Ripping the first letter open, Tsunade glared at the document inside, having missed shredding it in two by inches.

"If it's not Shizune then who?" Jiraiya was indeed curious, now.

"Naruto, of course!"

A moment of silence.

"Naruto asked you to prepare an Omiai for him?"

Jiraiya bounced up from the chair, shocked -the little mongrel had not even told him!

"And he didn't tell _me_!"

The busted woman did not even look up from the file of the first possible candidate as she skimmed through it; the picture showed a petite brunette with a slightly roundish face, smiling hopefully at the camera, as if she was trying to convey the message 'pick me'.

"No, I'm doing an '_onegai shimasu_'(2), actually." she replied, placing down the file to her left and then opening another letter.

"_O-onegai shimasu?!"_ Jiraiya stuttered stupidly, sitting down again.

"Yes, _onegai shimasu._"

She threw the second file in the trash bin.

"But that's for women!"

"Traditions are made to evolve, stupid!" She glared at him again, daring him to talk against her.

"And what about the diatribe you fed us at your own _omiai_?" the white haired man interjected, recalling back that day. "Wasn't it: 'Love cannot be forced', you said, before kicking everybody's ass and running off to drink and bet at the closest casino!"

"I had Dan." Tsunade answered back, sniffing. "I loved him. I didn't want or need an omiai".

"For all you know, he still has Sakura!"

Biting his tongue, he tried not to let this fall into an argument. It would be far too expected.

Tsunade bit her lower lip. She knew what Jiraiya was trying to say. Dan had been gone for a good ten years when her parents tried to force her into an omiai, wanting her to get over her pain. But she has never wanted to let go of him, of his memory, and even though many years had passed, she still had him deep in her heart.

No one had ever took his place in her heart, or came close to and if she had a say about it, no one else ever would.

But Sakura was no Dan -it made her angry that Jiraiya could even suggest that- and Naruto needed to get over her as soon as possible!

"Willingly or not, he's going to get over that… that trump!"

Tsunade shredded to pieces the next file, not even bothering to look at it.

"I gave him more than a month: he should be over her now! He's a _**man**_, after all! Nothing is more unreliable in love than a man. They move from girl to girl like butterflies from flower to flower."

Ignoring Jiraiya's incredulous look, Tsunade scoffed and continued.

"That's why I'm going to help him to become a gentleman, as opposed to a pig… like you."

She pointedly glared at the four time divorced man, daring him to talk back.

"And you count on doing it through an _onegai shimasu_?"

"That is exactly what he needs!" She bit back, growling. "He needs someone to choose for him, since he clearly demonstrated his poor taste in women. He needs someone to make the good choice in his stead".

"Tsunade–hime, love is blind. You should know!" Jiraiya's eyes softened as he looked at her, memories of a 'back then', bittersweet to the most. "Especially when it's the first".

The woman ignored him again, busy looking through the other files.

……………………………

Not for the first time since he had started living with Naruto, Itachi got out of work 'early', leaving any extra work he had piled up to his assistant instead of bringing it back home as it had once been his custom.

Itachi had been pleasantly surprised by how competent that young man proved to be, in the end: even though Suigetsu sometimes lacked professionalism -he tended to let his mouth run off a little too much for Itachi's liking-, and was especially childish whenever Kisame was around. But he always did his workload without protesting, and never neglected any menial work that all his predecessors simply forgot about.

Thus, Itachi's schedules were always one hundred percent foolproof, as were the information he was provided with. And Itachi had been able to concentrate on the side of his work that mattered the most, working even more every day -something that pleased the workaholic side of him very much.

For these reasons, the dark haired man had decided to offer him a promotion, lifting him from a simple secretary to the honorary position of assistant.

He had brought Suigetsu with him for some of his appointments: something that had caused many of his clients to marvel about it with Madara–sama, some even inquiring over Itachi's health with him; of course, Itachi did not care about rumors, and he had found a competent worker who made his life easier. That was enough. Apart for Suigetsu's random slips of tongue, though, but his behavior could easily be waved off as being young and eager.

Stepping inside the empty apartment, Itachi let out a soft sigh. He was once again home earlier than Naruto.

That did not bother him in the slightest, as it permitted him to indulge in preparing dinner for the both of them; dining together was something he could easily label a date, but apparently, the 'date' quality of those dinners seemed to escape Naruto.

This, far from bothering Itachi, made him even keener to gain the blond man's attention -after all, he was pretty sure he had his affection already, but he needed to show him that he was interested in a different kind of relationship.

Being always the competitive type, Itachi took the conquering of Naruto's undivided attention as seriously as he could: a challenge.

And for every challenge, of course, you needed other challengers. Or more than needed, there would always be some, that you wanted it or not.

Itachi had considered for some time Naruto's ex-fiancée as a possible challenger, but of course what kind of competitor missed the opportunity to win such a marvelous prize like she did? She was not worth of Naruto's affection, so she was unworthy of being a contender.

Nevertheless, Itachi could not diminish the importance of Naruto's first crush, and had to take her into the equation, no matter his own feelings about it.

Of course, the eternal competitor was, this time and forever, his dear little brother Sasuke. Itachi was sure that Sasuke had no idea of his relations with Naruto, though -that meant two options were left: one: Sasuke was sincerely interested in Naruto; or two, Sasuke wanted to make a coup of some sort.

Knowing his brother, the most probable was the second choice, but he could not rule out the possibility of the first one, either. Sasuke did demonstrate some good taste, sometimes.

Still, if the second choice was the one to go with, it meant Sasuke would become a problem if he ever learned of Itachi's relationship with Naruto.

He was quite sure that Naruto did not make the connection between the two brothers, even though as obvious as it looked once knowing of it, their kinship was not as obvious as it might seem. Especially since neither of them made mention of the other to acquaintances or friends. Yet, he would not underestimate Naruto; even if the man was one of the most obviously naive person Itachi had ever met, he knew through experience that the blond man could be sharp at the most inadequate or unexpected moments.

If one were to ask him what had attracted him the most of Naruto, Itachi would fondly mention those unexpected moments when Naruto's expression and behavior would suddenly change from one side to the other, surprising Itachi, just like his explosive anger at a comment on TV, followed shortly by a bright, equally explosive laugh the next second; or when he had come home from work, empty handed, tripping on his feet on the door, yet later on he would gracefully balanced heavy dinner plates in both hands with the skills of a tightrope walker.

No one had fascinated Itachi more than Naruto had.

So oblivious of the feelings that others had for him, and probably of his own, someone so open and yet, at the same time, so mysterious. Naruto was a beautiful, complex puzzle, whom Itachi wanted to selfishly keep for himself, and himself only.

……………………………

Kushina was a simple woman.

She did not care about jewelery, cars, shoes or whatever other kind of flashy possession like any other woman might: her interest for clothes, brands, perfumes had been close to naught. Books attracted her long enough to finish them, then fell into the nameless void that surrounded everything she did not care for.

Music had the power to calm her and soothe her nerves, but she never remained concentrated enough to complete a single song, let alone a composition.

Paintings held her eyes for a moment, then she was gone.

Animals could only keep her entertained for a moment, then she was gone again, disappearing with the wind, always in search of something more, something…

All in all, the only thing that had ever piqued her interest had been a single _person_.

Namikaze Minato.

Gorgeous, polite, intelligent: in a word, perfect.

Her parents detested him.

Yet, he was not the same as anyone she had ever met: he could keep her attention focused solely on him, making her wish to spend all her time with him, making her forget that there was a world around her that did not revolve around him.

She had wanted him, she had needed him, whole, utterly hers, his attention on her, his love for her, his eyes never leaving her frame.

And what she wanted, she would get.

She had had him even if for a fleeting moment, even if only for a short time he had been hers. She had promised herself to never let him go, to hold him close against her chest, unable to leave, and she had had him.

He had left his family for her. His university. His life. His future… all of this had been sacrificed for the sole purpose to run away with her.

A well-behaved young man like he had been -throwing all away, for her.

Of course there could have been only the two of them in her perfect world.

Following her mother's advice to the opposite, she took on bad habits: drinking alcohol, doing drugs; her mother had repeated it over and over and over, taking drugs would make Kushina sterile!

Oh, of course, she hided it from him, from poor, sweet, cute Minato.

It had been hard. But to take hold of her dream, of the only man who had made any sense in her world, Kushina kept lying and hiding.

But she had made a mistake.

A big mistake.

Somehow, she had turned up being pregnant.

She did not want to keep the little bugger!

It would ruin her dream, her perfect world!

How was she supposed to keep control, keep that perfection up when someone like that was standing in the middle of it all?

They did not need that entity. That plus. That life that was one more than what was needed.

Wanting to get rid of it had mattered nothing: none of the doctors, not even the most amoral ones, had wanted to help her.

She could not go back to her love with that filth inside her

She had left.

When that thing -crying, crimson with blood and tears, disgusting- had been torn away from her womb, she had tried returning to her love, yet Minato had been nowhere to be found.

Alone, poor, without help, without anything. The thing that had come out from her womb had turned out to be the only thing she had left. Keeping it.

Keeping that thing.

Minato would be back -she would find him.

The thing would be important, then. Surely. Surely, it would be of help! Minato had stupidly said he wanted kids, had he not?

Kushina did not have it in her, though -she could not be a mother.

She had tried, but not enough. She had never wanted it, and without desire, there was nothing to grip onto.

That demon, the little thing, it had taken her Love away from her, robbing her of her most prized treasure, just like that demon, the Kyuubi, tricking people and stealing away from them.

She hated It.

The demon.

The thing.

The filth that came from her body -no kid, no baby, no human.

A demon, yes. A demon.

Memories of that night -flashes of light hitting the cold metal of the knife she used to draw whiskers on its face. On its cheeks. Whiskers like those of a fox.

She had been so high, she could barely remember doing it -a soul-out-of-a-body experience, passing out afterward, as she had never liked the sight of blood.

The next thing she had known, the bugger was gone, her parents were there, she was in rehab.

She still remembered it, even now.

She still woke up at night, remembering the little demon's face -it even shadowed those blissful, coveted memories of his dear Minato.

Fingers clenching around the edge of the table, Kushina focused on the matters at hand again.

"You said…" She licked her dry lips. "You said all his life. It's all in there?"

The man in front of her nodded, and she threw him a wad of banknotes. He grabbed it.

"Yes" was the clipped reply.

She weighted the file –so thin, too thin.

The man in front of her started counting the money.

Kushina smiled. It bloomed on her beautiful face, making it even brighter, more beautiful -almost lethal.

She let the file fall on her new desk, chuckling and curling her fingers on the wooden surface again.

"My little Kyuubi. You will finally, finally be of use to me."

From the paper, the scarred face of a young man stared up at her.

……………………………

To be continued

……………………………

(1) (O)Miai: is a Japanese custom in which unattached individuals are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage. (this is generally for young people between 22-30 years old)

(2) Onegai Shimasu ("I make the request") implies that both parents have authorized consent for their daughter to meet eligible men. The daughter may be unaware that her parents have suggested her availability.

PS: Abortion is legal under special circumstances in Japan before the 2nd trimester.

Thanks for reading this chapter :D You can review now please!


	11. Chapter 10

Hello there,

Ok there, I had decided in all my selfishness that I would update this story as soon as I was back in my country. And I'm back! Thus new chapter out. Sorry for the wait, it's entirely my fault.

Thanks to my lovely Co-author **StarsOfYaoi **(don't think I'm not doing anything here!)

To all those who think that my co-author is a replace-able item, I say: this story would not be as good without **StarsOfYaoi** taking some of her precious time to write/re-write/correct parts of it. Of course, I was utterly annoyed by the time she took to work on LV9 and believe me I did not make it a secret of it. Now please, don't take your frustration out on her, because she is feeling guilty enough as it is.

Thanks for the support all of you show to this story!

**WARNING:** I'm writing in American English. Some spelling can be different from UK English. Thanks for taking that in account.

**Thanks** to all the reviewers: **itachisgurl93; makoed; KitKatxoxo; Myobu-Uzumaki; Firehedgehog; Felnore; demon'sLOver; onidra; DarkRavie; Sanz0girl; kkm-crazyfan24; kma3000; Kichou; kesn** (Sakura is there because I need someone to put drama in the thing and to be the annoyance)**; Noo-chan; InzanityRulz; utoi; Shi No T3nshi; mione the kneazle; monzieslilneji; tactless n' lovin it; Bella216; yue no rei; fan girl 666; rianifitria; rianifitria; Uzumaki Shiro-Chan; Uzumaki Shiro-Chan; Hopeless45; Kiragirl17; bruised anatomy; XxUnconsciousxX; counter-intuitive; ProudSakuraHater** (I did not get your address thus could not answer)**; Toraus** (thanks)**; Book Mad TJ; kit1011** (It's AU it's doomed to be filled with OOC-ness. But then again I guess I could be truer to the Canon if only I was still reading Naruto... I could...)**; HiKaRi-ChIbI; minyaka14; smexyforever; purple-flavored-gum my bear; black-hurt17; Mauri** (Yes I'm trying to be a bit over dramatic... but I think having watched Nemuri no Mori while writing those last couple of chapter has influenced me greatly)**; Imperial Mint; breaker99**.

…

**Long Vacation**

…

**Chapter 10**

…

Naruto was sprawled on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, reflecting on how much his life had changed in such a small amount of time.

Until a few weeks before, he had thought that his life was quite planned out.

He had been ready to marry his high-school sweetheart, and then have the perfect life he had always dreamed of: a standard Japanese family, with a Papa and a Mama, and he had been hopeful to be able to convince Sakura to have a little kid running around in a year's time also.

Of course, somewhere deep into his heart, he had known that maybe Sakura might not be the best choice for a life companion, as she had been snobbish at time -something he truly could not stand- but at least, she had always stood up for the 'less fortunate', as she used to call them.

No matter the audience, no matter whom she was talking with, she had always backed him up, in the end. She got that sort of courage that Naruto had always admired. Yet she was also the kind of person who would never ever forgive someone for their flaws, despite never seeing her own.

Yet, Naruto had thought it would be worth a try anyway -go through all this trouble, to try and live with Sakura, loving her, spending his whole life at her side.

Naruto had been sure that she would change, maturing into an even more beautiful woman!

In the meanwhile, he would have been able to cope with her attitude: respond to her demands -no matter how outrageous-, love her. After all, even if he was so young and without experience, he had a stable job, and thanks to Sakura's overly generous parents, they even had the chance to have an apartment of their own to call home!

He had been sure that even if in his love for Sakura, something was lacking, that he could, he _would_ make her happy.

So that her beautiful smile would blossom on her lips, brightening up both of them.

Everything had vanished in a puff of smoke.

Now it hurt to picture Sakura smiling.

If once it had been the most comforting thought for Naruto, now if that smile flickered through his thoughts, he could only imagine himself waiting at the shrine, almost impatiently, waiting for that smile, knowing it would never come.

Reflecting back on that day with lucidity, something that had eluded him for a long month, Naruto finally realised something important: More than the fact that he had been stood up, what really hurt was that Sakura had left him without looking back.

Without thinking it twice.

Without a care in the world.

She had never loved him.

And if she had, she had not loved him enough.

The thought hurt. It hurt so much still, and maybe if he had to be honest, at least with himself, he had to admit that he might not have loved her enough, either.

Not like a papa should love a mama.

But they had been friends, right? At least that, if nothing more: friends, right?

A one-page letter to break up a year-long relationship like it was some kind of unimportant rubbish, as if getting rid of an out of fashion vest.

And it was not just a year of relationship: before that, they had been friends for, for so long. For so many years. He had been sure that if not love, at least, she had to consider him a friend.

It had hurt more: More than the humiliation of explaining to his friends and to Sakura's parents that she would not come, more than being stood up in front of the shrine on the day of their marriage, more than coming home to see the whole house screaming of Sakura at every corner...

Had Sakura been such a coward that she could not even face him?

Did their friendship even matter to her?

Naruto took a deep, slow breath, then let it out in an equally slow huff, finally forcing his body to an upright position.

In a way, all of this had been for the best.

That feeling of dread before the marriage, he had thought it to be just stress, but thinking back about it now: could it be a sign that he had not been ready to commit himself to Sakura?

That, deep inside, he had also been sure this marriage would not work?

Was it better then, to keep separate?

Maybe Sakura had made the right decision -the one he would have never had the resolve to make himself, blinded by a dream, by a hope. Maybe he had never really seen Sakura, either. Maybe he had just seen the shadow of what they could have been.

Could he think it like that? Be thankful at Sakura for the choice she made?

If not for her dumping him that way, such an uncouth, hurtful way, he would have never met Itachi!

Was it strange to think like that?

It had been a shock to find this stranger in the flat he should have shared with his wife on his honeymoon, had things ended up differently, sitting there, staring at him whilst Naruto had been nearly butt naked.

Especially when said man was so gorgeous. Like one of those Greek statues, the kind you could see in museums in Europe, or something.

Naruto had never been one to get bothered by gender. Of course, he had considered himself for the longest time as being on the hetero side of the force. That did not mean he could not admire human beauty whenever he could, especially when presented to him in such a way.

Itachi, if anything, was the prime example of handsomeness.

Was it because of his appearance that Naruto had not even thought twice about accepting that stranger in his life?

Back then, Itachi had only been someone with whom Naruto could have had a one-night stand with -thinking back to it now that he knew Itachi enough, Naruto could admit that it was highly unlikely that the two of them had done anything more than drink and talk, though-, and he had even proposed him to share the flat!

Yet, things had progressed well, with the first few days being awkward to the Max, sharing that girlish pink decorated apartment, in which nothing was really Naruto's.

When everything had been about Sakura, even walking through that apartment hurt. And Gods, did it hurt, even if he was trying not to think about her.

It would have been so embarrassing to have his first time with your room-mate -let alone a male room-mate-, and not even remember it, and why on Earth did he decide to take someone in, in the first place?

It would have been fine being all alone. He had always lived by himself before, why would that have been any different?

Of course it would have been different, Naruto knew it now. He would have never been able to live there on his own. Not in that house. Not in that apartment.

Itachi.

He had saved him.

To have to get out of bed every morning to cook for himself and Itachi, it helped him cope with the hurt. Having someone who did not judge him, who did not know of the circumstances, and who did not mind listening to his babbling about a complete stranger -because Sakura was just that for Itachi. It had been like therapy.

No one knew how good it felt to rant unless they tried it themselves.

As cliché as it might sound, in those few weeks, Naruto had started to have feelings for Itachi, drawn to him like a moth to a flame, unable to resist.

It was strange, especially since Itachi did not have the brightest personality ever: he never talked much, and all Naruto knew about him came from the little slips Itachi himself made -for example, the tendency to be really grumpy in the morning, and only got better after his first cup of tea with buttered toasts, sometimes even grilled fish.

Or when on the phone, he would be unable to stand still -whatever he would end up doing, whoever he was on the phone with, he would have to stand up and pace around the flat, cup of tea constantly in his hand.

Naruto had even noticed the way Itachi always ate his vegetables separated from his meat or fish -always beginning with the latter- and the way he would curl his hair strands around his index finger before tugging them behind his ear.

Whatever the subject was, Naruto found himself thinking Itachi to be the most fascinating, his attention completely enraptured.

What really bothered him in the end, was that of Itachi, he knew just that.

The small things.

Nothing about the man's background, a few things of his private life, absolutely nothing of his work life!

Whilst Naruto had babbled about his life over and over, yet did not even know Itachi's family name.

How wrong was it, to not even know his own room-mate's surname?

And yet...

And yet, he knew what to his opinion was the most important thing -he knew of Itachi in the present, and the past was such an overrated thing! Itachi was a hard working person, like Naruto himself was. Maybe not the most honest one, but what kind of lawyer in that branch could be honest AND successful?

Naruto recalled that Suigetsu had explained him a number of times that corruption was the way he had took upon himself in that branch of law.

From what he knew, and Naruto prided himself in knowing quite a bit about Itachi's private side, Itachi was also a considerate person: Naruto was well aware that hits man could have any woman he wanted, yet never bothered to bring home a one-night stand, or anything else, really! He could have had as many as he wanted, yet nothing.

Naruto had heard rumors going around about rich, successful men flirting around, having multiple lovers in order to get rid of the frustration of work, but not Itachi.

He might be deluding himself with false hope, but he dared to think that Itachi was doing it out of consideration for him.

Naruto found it extremely touching.

Sighing, he shook his head, trying to get rid of that stupid idea; he should not get his hopes up, it was really a bad thing to do. Besides, when did he start thinking that being hit upon by his hot, gorgeous, sexy room-mate was something to desire?

Probably someone as successful as Itachi would find a person like him -a man, above all- following him around like a lovesick puppy more of a bother than anything else.

And still, if there was even the smallest chance ever, should he not try it anyway?

"Ah! sometimes life gets so complicated." Naruto moaned as he allowed himself to fall back on the bed, feeling it rock slightly under the weight of his body.

His eyes fell to the window close by, and he frowned.

Pink curtains.

Maybe, if he had time today after work, he would go buy new ones. Maybe orange, his favorite color or maybe red.

Red like Itachi's eyes.

Hmm, that would be a good idea.

"**Long Vacation"**

Minato stood in front of the closed door, shifting unsure from one foot to the other; he checked one more time if he had the right address, and nodded to himself.

He was troubled.

More than troubled, he was utterly out of it.

This was unbelievable.

He had a son!

A _SON!_

His own flesh and bones; someone that shared a blood lineage with him.

And he was all grown up at that.

Minato felt a pang of pain at that thought. Grown up meant no more childhood to share. He had missed out his son's life: his first smile, his first steps, his first day at school, his first fight, his first girlfriend, their first dispute about curfew…

Those moments in the life of a kid that made it the more important to a parent.

He had always imagined all those times he would share with his children -in his mind, a boy and two girls- who would be sporting Rin's beautiful smile while chasing each other around in the grass. Laughing and having fun together, whilst he and Rin…

Dreams reduced into smoke with the death of his dear Rin -gone in the blink of an eye, and with her, also his dreams.

Minato could not hope to find a better match than Rin had been ever again: his beautiful sweetheart, mindful, dedicated, not perfect yet as close as it could be. Rin. The woman who had nursed his broken heart back to life, the woman who held him as he cried in anguish at his parents' death, the woman who had scolded him every time he overworked himself to exhaustion, the woman who had loved him without ever asking anything in return, who could make him smile by her presence only.

After she had departed from life, away from him, he had thought there would never be happiness for him again. His whole world had turned into a shady hue of gray. Nothing mattered, his dreams, his hopes were turned into ashes.

The only thing that kept him going was the feeble conviction that Rin would be disappointed in him if he were to not live on.

Each night, despite his attempts at trying to run from her memory, he had cried out his anguish, trying to reach his lost dreams, and each morning was just a never ending battle to get out of the bed to live through yet another colorless day.

But then, out of nowhere, life offered him another chance to live out one of the dreams he had thought lost forever. Minato had never felt this blessed before.

Was it selfish to want to be a father to this person that was his son?

Now that he had seen him, sure as he was of who this Naruto was, was it so bad of him to want to be part of his life?

Of course he realized that Naruto had already a father-figure: from what he understood, Naruto had lived with a certain UMINO Iruka-san since the early age of three, and he had given him the family Naruto had always needed.

Gods bless that man for taking care of his son like that!

That was why Minato was so worried: did he have the right to simply waltz in Naruto's life announcing he was the young man's father, and expect everything to shift the way he wanted it to?

What if Naruto did not want him? What if he rejected a father he did not know in favor of the man he would long since considered his real parent?

He had never been part of Naruto's life, and maybe, maybe it was for the better.

What right did he have?

He had all but abandoned his 'son'; he had no rights to claim him back, simply because he wanted to show him he could be a good dad. Maybe the right way would be to keep away from him, watching his son grow up from afar.

'_No!'_ He thought, his fingers clenching into fists.

Naruto needed to know. He needed to know that his father, his real one, at least loved him and regretted not being there for him. He needed to know that he had been wanted! Naruto was loved, even if he had not known it.

For this reason, for this reason only, Minato wanted to face Naruto and talk to him.

Be part of his life, for how small that part could be. Even if Naruto ended up hating his coward of a father!

With a deep breath, steadying himself for whatever could happen, Minato knocked on the door.

He heard some noise on the other side, and for a split moment he thought about turning around and walking away; but before he could further consider the solution, the door swung open.

A pair of brown eyes stared at him, and he blinked.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

"Are you Umino Iruka?" Minato shook himself out from his thoughts.

He had no doubt this was Iruka-san, from the description his son had given him. The man was not too tall nor was he short, with long brown hair pulled into a spiky Samurai-styled ponytail, and at the sight of the long scar running across the younger man's face, Minato felt a sudden itch to trace it with his fingers, to see if it was as deep as it seemed. Naruto -his son. His _son-_ had told him that to him, that scar was important -that he loved it, because he felt less out-of-place with his own scarred cheeks, seeing a similar one adorning his father's face.

"My son…" He whispered to himself, feeling giddy at the thought: much like a girl after receiving a confession from the one she loved.

"Yes, I am Iruka. Can I know who you are?" Iruka demanded, somewhat harshly.

'_This tone doesn't fit this man in the least.'_ The blond man thought, almost surprised.

"My name is Namikaze Minato." He answered then, straightening his back. "I would like to talk about Naruto-kun with you, if it's possible, Umino-san".

The brown eyes narrowed instantly, and after a moment of deep thought, Iruka stepped aside, inviting Minato in his house; the blond man could see how pale Iruka had become, but chose not to comment on it just yet.

"I'm sorry for the disturb." He politely bowed, taking his shoes off and trying not to look intimidating.

He was in the house of a man who had taken care of his Naruto for so many years, and he had no rights to look demanding.

Iruka nodded, presenting him with a pair of slippers, and showed him to the lounge, feeling angst-y.

Minato looked around with interest, unable to restrain his curiosity: it was a small yet cozy little house. The decorations were simple, no fluff colors you would expect from this kind of place, just a simple, delicate color pattern traced the walls and the furniture.

The walls were painted of a cream tone, with blue edges running along the doors and windows; the cupboards, table, chairs and shelves had a rustic style, made in dark mahogany wood.

There was a bookshelf in the corner near the window, filled with books and DVD, of the same material as the rest of the furniture -Minato appreciated the sight of the books, appeased to see them-he had come to know a lot of illiterate people in his life, and it looked like Iruka was not one of them.

On the nearest shelf there was a line of photos and some small trinkets, and the few paintings on the wall gave the room he touch of warm color, which resulted in a cozy feeling.

Something in that room, maybe the disposition of the furniture, or the things that made it feel homey -the photos, a framed childish drawing that probably belonged to Naruto- it gave off a feeling of peace, and protection.

Minato could not but feel safe in that room, his tense muscles suddenly relaxing as he sat down on the brown sofa, that felt just as comfortable as it looked.

"Do you want some tea?" Iruka offered, although his expression was still guarded.

The blond man nodded wordlessly, feeling vaguely nervous despite the homey feeling.

As the guest nodded and disappeared into another room to get the tea, Minato was left alone in the sitting room, he merely glanced around, staring fondly at the drawing on the wall -representing two people, roughly traced with reds and browns and yellows in what looked like a field of flowers- and then at the photos on the shelves.

Everything looked perfectly kept, nothing out of place, nothing dirty.

The light was entering the room through the white curtains of the big window next to the bookshelf, falling on the pristine coffee table.

"Here." Clearly having used the time away to collect himself, Iruka offered Minato a cup of tea, that he accepted with a grateful nod.

Taking a sip, he placed it down on the table.

"What can I do for you, Namikaze-san?" Iruka asked, sitting down on the armchair in front of Minato.

"I…" He had to stop.

His mind was blank.

Even though he had rehearsed the whole conversation he wanted to have with Umino-san over and over whilst traveling to the man's house, he found himself suddenly at loss of words. Opening his mouth, he tried to make out a coherent sentence, but to no avail.

Whatever came to his mind made him feel like he was there to steal Naruto away, grasping him and running, almost as if he was trying to deny Iruka's importance in Naruto's life.

After all, what was he for Naruto other than a sperm donor?

'It doesn't mean it has to stay this way forever, though!' He convinced himself, shaking his head.

Once again, he was having the same argument with himself. He sighed.

"You are Naruto's biological father, are you not?" Iruka interrupted his thoughts, making his head shoot up quickly, blue eyes meeting with understanding brown ones.

"No. I mean, yes… I mean, not really, I, I..." He knew he was ranting, but this was not easy at all! "I'm not here to… to steal him away. I mean, I know what this looks like: the unreliable father who ran away to the United-States leaving his pregnant girlfriend behind, but…" Fingers clenched around the small teacup, Minato frowned. "But I really didn't know about it. I, I would not have left! I know it's so late, now. It's way too late, yet."

His breath coming in short gasps, Minato looked away from Iruka to stare at the drawing on the wall, then back at the man.

"Yet, even if I have no rights, even if it is just pure selfishness on my part, I want to know more about him. I want to know my son. Your son. My… and I want him to know about who I am. I want him to know that he is loved, and he was wanted. He wasn't an accident, or he would have been my little treasure!" Desperately trying to make Iruka understand, he took a shuddering breath. "I cannot blame anyone but myself for not having been there for him, I know that. I miss him! I didn't know I was missing him, but I was. Really!"

He knew he was making less and less sense, but he could not stop.

Iruka had to understand -he had to _see_!

"Minato-san," Iruka cut through the other man's rant with a patient look. "Why did you come to see _me_?" He shook his head, his expression blank. "You could have just gone to see him directly".

Minato straightened back up, looking into those brown eyes, suddenly calmer.

"_You_ are HIS father!" He replied, as if it explained everything.

And maybe it did.

"**Long Vacation"**

Itachi tapped his fingers on the table, looking around.

He had cleared a lunch period from his schedule just to meet his devil of a brother, but Sasuke had yet to be seen. Itachi checked his watch once more, raising one eyebrow. One more minute and his brother would be officially late.

It was really unlike Sasuke to be late at any meeting: he never did the 'fashionably late' either, he thought it was 'the most despicable thing, to waste someone else precious time over the pretense of something as flicker and vain as fashion': so he never did it.

In fact, if Sasuke hated something, it was lateness -something which Itachi agreed with.

His younger brother was the kind of person always just in time, never late, never early. While Itachi preferred to come early and waiting patiently, generally working on other things in the meanwhile.

As it was, though, less than a minute and-

Itachi was shaken out of his idle thinking by the soft sound of the door of the booth opening and closing.

"Aniki." Was the simple greeting which spilled out from his brother's mouth.

"Otouto," Itachi acknowledged with a nod.

Itachi looked carefully at his younger brother, noticing how his appearance had not changed much since the last time he'd seen him -in this very same sake-ya, around a month before. He remembered that day very well -afterward, he had the pleasure of meeting with Naruto, after all.

If he thought about it, he should actually thank Sasuke to have accepted to be the public face of the UCHIHA in his stead.

Itachi had distanced himself from the family business, going to the extent of forsaking his last name -for he was no Uchiha any more, and preferred to go without a surname than to take that of the Uchiha as his own.

His father had great expectations for him. The man had hoped for him to take over the society and make the UCHIHA grow world-wide. Yet that had never been what Itachi had wanted for himself, and, in his only act of teenage rebellion, he had left his family to join his distant relative Madara -who worked towards his dream of forming a powerful firm of lawyers. A dream that Itachi shared.

Because of his actions, all the responsibilities that Itachi had once had, suddenly had fallen upon his little brother's shoulders. If Itachi ever had any guilt towards his actions, it was because he had put his brother through the strain of being the heir that their father had so wanted.

Of course, the first few months had been a bliss for Sasuke: moving from being neglected to the center of their parents' world had been exhilarating for his brother -Itachi had to know, as the two exchanged mails and phone calls. But then, the pressure made itself known, and the expectations sky-rocketed. So, when the hit of their father's 'disappointment' came down for the first time, Itachi had taken the brunt force of Sasuke's anger and frustration without a single complaint.

In Sasuke's eyes, he had moved from the revered older brother to the scum run-away who had ruined Sasuke's life.

It had not been a bother to Itachi in the least to listen to his brother repeatedly insult him, telling him how he hated him; Itachi knew he was at fault. He had done what he had done knowing full well what the consequences would be for Sasuke, and that was why he bothered keeping contact with his sibling.

In a way, he had accepted Sasuke's frustration on him as a punishment he deserved for his selfishness.

When Sasuke finally hit puberty, he came to understand Itachi and what he had done; once again, their relationship had changed: In Sasuke's eyes, Itachi turned from the evil brother who had doomed him to a life of unreachable expectations to the brother who had the courage to take his own life in his hands.

Once more the role model Sasuke aspired of becoming one day.

Following the example set by Itachi, Sasuke had finally freed himself from his family's obligations as well.

Going against the traditional 'work-in-the-shadows' style that his family was so accustomed to, Sasuke dived into the spotlights, putting his life on a stage, carefully building up the image of a handsome hard-working heir who flirted with the beauties of Japan -only the Japanese, mind you.

With the help of his best friend Sai, Sasuke had become the emblematic successful bachelor -something that, of course, pleased their father to no end.

Itachi allowed a smirk to appear on his face -he would not have been able to do better.

"Why did you want to see me?" Sasuke demanded to know, flopping down on the cushioned chair.

"I know you've gotten a new prey" Itachi explained plainly, going straight for the subject without playing jokes.

Sasuke raised one eyebrow as Itachi's eyes started through him.

This had turned out to be a routine, familiar for them -Sasuke would find himself a new 'interest', and Itachi would call him on it to know his true intentions. Following the same pattern every time, Itachi would elaborate ways to ensure that his brother remained relatively safe from people who could develop obsessions or stalker-ish tendencies.

Of course, since Sasuke had never really been serious with his attempted relationships, more interested in business/publicity than romance, Itachi had already successfully vetoed a couple of possible lovers -starlings and models mostly.

Sasuke let out a sigh, looking away, and Itachi smirked: did his baby brother think he would be able to avoid their usual talk? After all, he never let one pass without calling him on it.

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto. But I suppose you already know all there is to know about him, right?"

'_Even more, brother' _Itachi inwardly smirked.

He knew that it was in his power to stop his brother from going after Naruto: Sasuke had always listened to his advice, and a simple push in the right direction would mean one less rival.

"A male, Sasuke," Itachi's voice was calculating. "Risky. This one won't fall all bake into your awaiting arms, you know."

No, Itachi scolded himself, he was not doing this to eliminate unwanted competition. It would be way too easy, and Itachi had never been one to go for the easy way out.

Furthermore, in the end, this should be Naruto's decision, not his own.

"If you plan on having a man, and that particular one at that, you'll have to make him fall for you, Sasuke" Itachi continued, face blank.

It would have been amusing to watch the slight pout-ish expression his brother had, if not because it was Naruto the main subject here, not one of those more or less brainless bimbo his brother had dated previously.

This was different.

"You have to understand that you need to develop a form of attachment to him. It won't be something that you'll keep going for a few weeks and drop away when you're done. It's something you'll have to deal with. That man is not like any of your previous preys, Sasuke." Itachi explained patiently.

Why was he helping his brother, though?

Of course, he meant what he said. Naruto meant something more than a fling that would end in hurt on his part, and Itachi knew how Sasuke treated his flings, in the end.

But this was more of a brotherly suggestion, an advice. It was not going to be easy, and he was not going to let Sasuke get to Naruto first. He had a feeling that a person like Sasuke would not have an easy road to Naruto's heart, whilst he was already a few steps in the front.

As it was, he had moved through the same thought-train when he had decided to go after the blond man. After all, he had not been the kind of person to indulge into feelings on a whim. No, his decision to court Naruto was one he had thought out.

He had no doubt that he held some kind of strong affection for the young blond, but that had never been enough of a reason for Itachi to take a risk with others, before.

But this time, it was different. Naruto was different.

The things he made Itachi feel, lust but also something else, that sort of attachment, of…

"In other words, you have to be sure of what you want. You cannot go into this sort of relationship halfheartedly, Sasuke." Itachi rephrased.

And Itachi was sure of what he wanted.

What he wanted was Uzumaki Naruto.

"**Long Vacation"**

Tsunade let out an exasperated sigh.

This girl would not cut it out: from her parents' descriptions of her, she was definitely too plain for Naruto.

Of course, Tsunade had realized that most of the girls up for Onegai-shimasu would be plain, but there should be limits to how much one could be this lame.

She smiled regretfully at the girl's parents, who seemed to understand that their daughter was not exactly what she was searching for.

A ring echoed in the busy room, barely audible over the noise of parents' conversations and arguments.

"Time's up!" The petite woman in charge of the onegai-shimasu stood up, half-yelling to be sure she would be heard over the crowd. "Please, will the bachelors' party head up to the next table?"

The sound of chairs being pushed around, half-heartfelt goodbyes quickly replaced the previous arguments.

'_Two more to go!'_ Tsunade braced herself, hoping that at least one of the remaining girls would do.

It was her first 'speed in-laws meeting' -like the agency called that, at least. The same agency that was the only one proposing Onegai-shimasu for males, and it arranged for potential in-laws to meet in a speed-dating like setting, as to further increase the chance of a good match.

When the round -there were ten tables- was completed, the bachelor's party -which was either the bachelor himself with or without his parents, or just his parents- would inform the person in charge of the tables, and with consent on both parties -the bachelor and the parents of the girl he chose-, the agency would organize a date into one of their partner restaurants.

Tsunade had subscribed to their Onegai-shimasu package, which included five 'speed in-law meetings', and the success rate was of ninety-five percent chances of marriage by the end of the five rounds.

Smiling, the busty woman nodded in reassurance. There was no way she would not be able to find someone agreeable for Naruto.

She was not even picky to be honest! All she wanted was a nice, typical Japanese woman, with black eyes and straight hair.

Of course, she would have to have a good stable job, one that she would keep after marriage, so she would not be too dependent on Naruto. Not to mention she would want to have children, at least two of them -Tsunade wanted to be an aunt, so that she could spoil the children like she had never been able to spoil Naruto.

Oh, and Tsunade could forgive it if the girl lacked the skills in housework and cooking, as Naruto could easily manage himself in these domains. Of course, if the girl could do them too it would be an undeniable advantage.

Sitting at the next table, Tsunade stared at the salary man who was picking nervously at the appetizers proposed by the restaurant/bar they were in. Next to him sat a mild-looking woman, whose hand was holding her husband's, stroking it in soothing patterns whilst smiling delicately at the newcomer.

"Single parent?" The husband stated, obviously a bit put off by the fact that Tsunade was sitting there alone.

His wife tapped his hand with her nails, throwing him a dark look, and the man immediately bowed in shame, silently asking for Tsunade's forgiveness at his rude question.

"You'll have to excuse my husband. He is a little nervous about the whole ordeal." The woman calmly explained, a smile on her lips. "I'm Tsunitsu Kaori, and this is my husband, Tsunitsu Mitsuru." The woman introduced both herself and her husband with a slight tilt of her head, in a perfect public-relations way.

Tsunade smiled back, vaguely reassured. This was what she wanted for Naruto: a tender woman with her head firmly on her shoulders. Children took after their parents, this was a well known fact, and with a bit of luck, the daughter would have taken after her mother.

"My Name is Tsunade, it is a pleasure to meet you." She answered, also bowing.

The busty woman took a photo of Naruto out from her pocket, sliding it towards the couple. Both of them leaned forwards to look at it.

"This is my little angel Naruto. I realize that his obvious foreign look might be a put off, but I assure you that he has been brought up with the utmost care, and in the traditional Japanese way." She explained, expression serious.

She was not really sure herself about what she meant with 'traditional Japanese way', but saying that seemed to put parents at ease, calming them down. She had the time to better her presentation with the previous couples, and could now anticipate most of the questions coming up about her Naruto, and answer them the right way.

"Oh, I don't care about his Japanese upbringing, nor his parentage. What I want to know is his personality!" The man grumbled under his breath, loud enough for Tsunade to hear, though she was not sure that comment had been made to be heard.

She raised one eyebrow, surprised.

He was the first person at the onegai-shimasu that had clearly shown to be uninterested regarding Naruto's blond hair and blue eyes. All the other parents had been cautious about the punk-like air Naruto gave off in the photo, and the fact that he had foreigner ascendency had heavily weighted on them and their attitude towards the meeting.

Yet, here was a man who was still somewhat attached to traditions -he was organizing an onegai-shimasu, after all- yet did not care about Naruto's non-Japanese appearance.

A photo was slid into Tsunade's hands, almost forcibly.

"This is our daughter, Kimiko." The woman stated, proudly.

Tsunade looked down at the photo, watching the smiling Kimiko: she was standing in a beautiful dark gray tailleur with a silky white shirt, a red and white bandanna around her neck. Her black eyes were shyly looking at the camera through her black fringe; she clearly looked proud of herself, yet timid, almost nervous, as if she was going to go out to fight a dragon.

"It was the day she began her work as a receptionist at the Aranvert hotel(1)." The woman supplied, looking up at her with a proud smile. "She is a hard-worker, my girl. She fought against her shyness to get that job! it is a very well-paid job, too."

Tsunade had no trouble catching the hidden meaning in the woman's words, it clearly meant 'if you want your son to marry my daughter, he will have to accept the fact that she will not renounce to her job.'

"Naruto is working in the International banking management, he's in a good place for a promotion in his job as he is. He's currently working on a project on the side as a way to make some more money, in case of misfortune happening." Tsunade replied, her fingers intertwined in front of her.

She actually had no ideas on what Naruto's side job was. The blond man had been really vague in regards to that, but she knew it had something to do with Ino and Shikamaru.

Tsunade had made no attempt to hide her disapproval at Naruto working together with Ino, as she had guessed that Ino had known all along about Sakura' stunt, but Naruto had argued back about how, if put in Ino's place, he would not have known what to do, and that her position had been the most uncomfortable, too. Her choices had been restricted and extremely difficult to make.

He had never thought about blaming her for anything, so he had nothing to forgive her for.

On her side, though, Tsunade did blame Ino. She could have warned Naruto at least, of the possibility of being stood up! Tsunade could not forgive her for the hurt Naruto had to go through when she could have made it easier to bear.

"A side-job? Isn't his work in the bank a full-time one?" The father asked, apparently interested.

"He is working full-time at the bank, yes" Tsunade replied, thinking quickly about it.

She needed to find a good explanation that would avoid the failed marriage subject. None of the other couples had bothered asking about the jobs apart the pay Naruto received from the bank.

"His bank put him on obligatory leave, you know how most salary men love to overwork themselves, never taking on their obligatory holidays! The enterprise actually had to decide the holidays on their own to ensure they would be taken. Naruto simply decided to work on the days off, that's all!" Tsunade lied through her teeth.

She was not the best liar in the world, actually she could not bluff to save her life -which was why she had been named 'Legendary Sucker' in regards to her gambling addiction.

"My, my, what a workaholic you got here," The wife exclaimed, though her tone was not one of disapproval. "I hope he will able to lay down on the work to relax a bit."

"If there is someone waiting for him at home, he will for sure." The husband grumbled, as if speaking from experience.

Tsunade could not but smile as she noticed the tender look the wife sent to her husband, having no hard time imagining Naruto with their daughter in a similar situation.

'They would make a good couple, indeed.' she thought, clearly hoping for the best.

Looking up at the personal information on Kimiko's sheet, Tsunade hummed.

"Does your daughter cook?" she asked out of the blue, scanning the file to see if there was any mention of cooking skills.

"Well, she is not the greatest cook." The wife explained, scolding her husband with a look as he scrunched up his face, obviously meaning how this was the biggest understatement of the century. "But she likes to do housework and occupy herself around the house. She is very good at sewing, and she likes to tend to flowers. She even took some Ikebana lessons from Inochi-sama."

Tsunade nodded.

"Naruto loves to cook, especially Japanese dishes. He knows some French cooking, too. He worked as a second in a French restaurant as a part-time job when he was still in university."

"Really?" The husband instantly looked interested at the news. "I worked part-time as a cook at an Italian restaurant myself, when I was back in university."

Tsunade smiled, inwardly pleased.

'Score!'

She was going to ask for an arranged dinner at the end of the session, and she would have to check with Naruto to see when he would be free.

"**Long Vacation"**

Kushina smiled as she saw the blond, spiky hair she had longed to see for so long in the last few years.

She wanted to go up to the young man and admire that perfect blend of her and Minato, yet restrained herself, albeit barely.

She was a sensible woman now, and she knew that there was no way she could just walk up to her Kyuubi and simply tell it that she was its mother.

It would not work like that -absolutely not!

Oh, and also that wretched man, Umino Iruka! He had probably been telling it some stupid, absolutely false stories of his own invention that portrayed her as the real monster. She was Kyuubi's rightful parent, she was above such abominations!

Oh, how she hated that man!

Several times he had warned her that if she did not 'straighten up her act', he would call the police, warnings that had fallen on deaf ears.

Why would he care?

Kyuubi was hers to raise, whichever way she deemed the best for it.

Hers to mistreat, because it was not a real child. It was an object through which reach her own goals.

So if she wanted to carve out whiskers on its cheeks, it was her bloody right to do so!

Yet, the nosy man had apparently disagreed with her, making it so that the child-monster was removed from her care.

It was partly her fault that Kyuubi had been taken away from her, as she had badly underestimated the length that stupid wretch could go to make sure she was kept away. She had thought him to be a poor student who could not get any scholarship and had ended up having to become a second-rate teacher's assistant in a second-rate primary school to pay the university fee.

Apparently, she had been wrong.

It had turned out that the second-rate teacher's assistant was not really that second-rate, and had a lot of relations in high places. He had found her parents through whatever cursed luck of his, and had sold her out to them in exchange for her Kyuubi.

But now, she could lay her claim back on the child, and that man would not be able to do anything to stop her.

This child, this monster, it was hers. With the child in the lovely care of its long-lost mother, she would be able to conquer again what was rightfully hers.

What she had missed and longed for until then.

Kushina smiled to herself.

Now she just had to set her plan into motion, and watch it unravel.

Stretching her neck, she looked inside the shop's window, curiously.

'Perfect!' She thought to herself, as she fetched the phone out from her purse, clenching it in her manicured nails.

She started walking at a rapid pace towards the shop's entrance, looking as if she was in a deep conversation on the phone, the receiver pressed against her ear.

When she bumped into someone, she just looked up: "Oh, excuse me!"

The cold liquid in the person's cup spilled all over her white summer dress, staining it.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" The person tried to wipe the glaring red stains away, tapping her dress with table cloths, with no avail.

"Oh, my!" She lamented, her face shifting to a distressed look.

She shut her phone close and pushed it back into the purse, proceeding to try and help the young man, a smirk threatening to itch on her lips.

"I don't think it'll do it any good." She stated after a moment, her voice sad.

"I'm so, so sorry." The man repeated over and over again.

Kushina looked up and had her first, proper look at the young man -sunny blond hair, tan skin and eyes as blue as an azure sky.

She had been right about him, he was the Kyuubi taking on the appearance of one's loved one to weasel its way inside their hearts.

But she knew better than to fall under that demon's spell! She had resisted it when it was younger, just a baby, and she would resist its charms now it was a full-grown adult. It would be her tool to regain Minato, to be disposed of when its mean had been finally fulfilled.

Which should not take long, if everything went Kushina's way.

"I don't think it's salvageable." Kushina said, sighing in disappointment.

"I'm really sorry, I did not see you!" It lamented, still trying to dab away the stains even though he was putting in less energy than before.

"No, it was my fault. I was the one on the phone, and I wasn't looking where I was going." Kushina replied, a smile stretching her lips. "I'm Kushina." She added.

"Naruto." The blond answered, still looking guilty.

"Pleasure to meet you." She politely answered, still holding one hand over the stains.

"I-I'll buy you a new dress!" The other said out of the blue.

Kushina inwardly smirked.

She had known Kyuubi would react like that. Niceties were the way the Kyuubi used to slither into hearts, after all.

"Oh you don't need to…" Kushina exclaimed in a proper 'I can't accept this' way.

"I insist." Naruto stated, determinedly.

"It's really not necessary to bother yourself with this!" Kushina examined the stains; they were now just small spots of a very clear shade of pink disposed randomly on her dress. "I'll just go to some dry cleaner and see if they can do something about it."

"I'll go with you." Kyuubi answered fervently. "I'll pay for it."

Kushina smiled the most beautiful smile she could manage -she put in her best effort as to not show how much she loathed the beast- and followed the demon down the street.

It should have never been allowed to mature into adulthood! It was so much more dangerous, now!

If she let her guard down even for a second, she knew the demon would sweep her off her feet, luring her into a false sense of security, of warmth, and then she would be doomed.

While observing him the last few days, she had seen how many it had enthralled under its evil spell. Like that poor elderly woman, whom daughter he had almost married: After casting away the daughter, Kyuubi was now poisoning the mother's mind and slowly stealing her soul bit by bit, until there would be nothing left.

Or that young man whose heart it had obviously stole away, and now it lived together with the man, slowly sucking the life out of him.

Maybe she would be nice and helpful and free them from its spell, but, only after she had no use left for the demon.

It would be a good deed than to end the life of such horrendous creature, after all, and take pleasure in doing it.

It would join the Kappa which had kept her prisoner all those years, before she freed herself, in the deepest pit of hell.

"**Long Vacation"**

Sakura checked herself in the entryway's mirror one last time.

She was quite sad that she had to leave the flat -the landlord had apparently received a proposition from an interested buyer that he could not refuse, and had given Sakura a sweet deal so that she would leave without problems.

Anyway, with her current job, she knew she could not keep the apartment for herself -not for long, as it was, and especially not now that her father had cut her finances away.

The woman had some trouble believing it, but, no matter how many times she checked on the net, or directly with the bank, all transfers to her account from her parents had been canceled and the wedding account was now totally empty.

It was so like her father to think that cutting away her money would make her go back. But no, she had moved off to find her love, and her family would not see her again until she had a ring on her finger and a new name -Uchiha Sakura.

Did it not hold a nice ring to it? Uchiha, Sakura!

Closing the door behind her and placing the key in the letter box present in the hall, as instructed by the landlord, she moved down the corridor to leave.

It would have been nice to stay longer -she would have loved to, but she had priorities in her life, and that apartment was not one.

Sakura had taken a leave from her work, pretending to have some important business with her family that she needed to tend to -hinting that one of her parents was at Death's door had been the key to obtain the two weeks she needed.

She would be moving back to Kyôtô today.

Do not get her wrong, it was not a coming-back home, not this empty handed, at least! She had simply decided that it would be the best place to seduce her Sasuke-kun. After all, that city was her territory, she knew what to do and where to move.

It had been wrong of her to come chasing after her Sasuke in Tôkyô. She had realized that. With no previous knowledge of the fashionable Tôkyô, the one you can not read about on magazines, the one in which the stars shine away from those bothersome paparazzi, the one in which Sasuke lived in, Sakura had no chance.

But Sasuke was in Kyoto now. Sakura knew everything of that city, and she prided herself for that knowledge -every single 'in' shop, every restaurant à la mode, the bars, the pubs and nightclubs: that was what she knew.

The station waited for her, the train ready to leave the shining city of Tôkyô and Sakura threw a last look behind her at the city that had welcomed her so warmly, before stepping on the train, mind already reeling forwards, uncaring.

What if she had not bothered looking for a new apartment in Tôkyô? Why would she do that, when she would end up living in the penthouse flat Sasuke surely owned?

Oh, and she would keep her job! It paid well for a part-time job, and it would reflect well on her relationship with her family-in-law.

Sitting on one of the available seats, she sighed and looked out of the window; she had not bought a first class ticket because she needed to save up her money, and if she wanted to have a chance to find her Sasuke, she would have to go through some of the most expensive 'in' places.

Some were really exclusive, too -places one could only enter after been invited, like that sake-ya Naruto had worked at a couple of years before. She had been allowed in a few times using Naruto's name.

Apparently, the owners had been fond of her ex, and Sakura had used that to her advantage.

Sakura had learned quite a few juicy gossips in there -those she had only shared with Ino, so that they could both laugh at how long it took for the secret to be let out.

Sighing again, she wondered if she could still enter at that bar by using Naruto's name. she guessed it would not be possible any more, but there was no reason not to try, was it?

After all, if there was a place Sasuke would end up going, it would be there -and if not, she might hear something that could help her to find him!

Glancing outside of the window again, she observed the darkness, the only distinguishable thing some lights in the distance, before checking her watch for a moment.

It was too late to drop at Ino's house uninvited -while Ino did not live with her parents any more, she still helped with their school on week-ends, thus needed to be up in the early hours of the day, collecting flowers, leaves and such for the lessons she taught.

Sakura could not understand why Ino was doing all those efforts to please her parents: she was going to throw away her career as a model and advert specialist to become a vulgar Ikebana teacher! Why?

Sakura could not understand why Ino would let her talent go to waste just to continue some stupid tradition!

Worst was, Ino really _wanted_ to take over her father after his retirement.

Sakura was quite happy that her father never even though of pushing her into becoming a CEO to succeed him in his work.

She liked to be free, thank you very much!

Plus she could not think of anything more boring than working in an office.

Where was the fun? Where was the nights out to party, the gossip, the lights, and the fashion?

Sakura closed her eyes, mentally checking her friends' list to see if she could go to any of them.

Unfortunately, she quickly realized that she did not have that many friends, as she had first thought; most of them were in fact nothing more than simple acquaintances, people she knew the name of, and some of their private information, but nothing more. Otherwise, they were just strangers that she could recognize on the street.

The few names that came to her mind as friends were in fact more Naruto's than hers, and she could easily guess that she would be no welcome guest if she were to appear to their door.

Which left her with only one possibility, she had one place, one person she could go to.

She wondered briefly if she would be able to do that as she nibbled at her lips. She had no reason not to, after all!

As the soft voice of the announcer warned the passengers that the train would arrive in Kyôtô in a couple of minutes, Sakura stood up from her seat, surprised that the trip had been so quick -she had been lost in her thoughts for most of the way.

Gathering her luggage in silence, she moved to the doors, wanting to avoid the many other passengers already preparing to get off the train.

She would go to that person.

As the train slowed down, reaching the station, Sakura pressed impatiently the button, waiting for the automatic doors to open, stepping out from the train and moving through the station, ignoring the other people around her in her haste.

She caught the first cab coming her way, paying some extra for the driver to speed up a bit along the way, and arrived in record time at her destination, rewarding the guy awesomely for such a quick drive.

Walking up the rounds of stairs, Sakura had to stop a few times to keep in control the nauseating nervousness that had attacked her.

There was nothing to fear, after all what she did was for the best!

Why would he not let her in? he had never let her down, not even once, no matter how badly she had treated him, and this time, it would be like all the others.

He would let her have her way without a word, like before -like it should be. He was too nice, but it was not like Sakura was using him, much, that is. He was helpful, and Sakura needed help, and he clearly would understand it.

The door of the apartment was in front of her, and gathering all her courage, she knocked, passing her fingers through her hair to look more presentable, hopping from one foot to the other as she silently cursed herself -why did she not get a copy of the key with her? Even if she had not planned on coming back at all, this flat was still hers!

The door opened.

"I'm back." She stated naturally and brusquely, not even bothering to look at who had opened the door as she gathered her bags in her arms, preparing to enter the flat.

"You are?" A sober voice asked, stopping her on her tracks.

Sakura looked up sharply to see that it was not Naruto who had opened the door, but a dark haired handsome man.

He looked a bit like Sasuke, but in a different way -more mature, darker even. Totally her type, if someone had to ask her -she would so do him any time, any place. He just had to ask.

Sadly, she had other important matters to settle down, and having sex with the handsome guy was unfortunately not one of them, whilst asking who he was would surely be the best place to start.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, not realizing that she had spoken out loud.

"I live here." The man answered, tone low and humming.

Sexy, yes, but, what?

Sakura stared at him in shock.

Had her parents evicted Naruto? Did they sell the flat? Was it a rental?

It was! She had not expected it.

Where could she go now? A hotel? It was far too expensive, no way she could go there!

"Itachi, what is it?" A voice called from inside, and Sakura recognized it as Naruto's.

Blinking, she tilted her head to the side. Naruto was still there? Was he rooming with this hot guy?

Naruto had never had a room-mate before!

He always said it would be too much of a trouble, and that he preferred to pay all the bills by himself so to be sure that all was paid in due time, than having the cost cut and wondering if everything had been paid!

For him to be sharing a flat -her flat! Not his own, but hers!- with someone was surprising.

What the hell had happened?

"Nothing." Itachi answered, closing the door on her gaping face.

Sakura remained motionless there for a couple more minutes, wondering what had just happened.

Had she just been refused entry in her own apartment by a complete stranger who seemed to inhabit the said flat?

She let herself fall on the floor completely flabbergasted.

'What the hell?' was the only thought she could manage.

…

**To be continued**

…

(1) Aranvert Hotel Kyôto: 179 Higashi Kazariya-cho, Gojo-dori, Shomogyo-ku, Kyôto 600-8107. This is once again a real hotel in Kyôtô and do not belong to me.

**Please Review! :D**


	12. Chapter 11

Hello there,

This chapter should have been up sooner (as I told several reviewers) but, due to unforeseen and foreseen events, it could not be updated sooner. Please accept my apology.

Thanks to my Co-author **StarsOfYaoi **(…)

Thanks to all the reviewers: **HowlingAngel (X2); SadisticxxQueenxx; Sanz0girl; midnight-raven-wing; yue no rei; hnned; DarkRavie; angie; Petileo; Stargazer; Kichou; Shi No T3nshi; RoxasIsReal13; kyothefallenkit; FaerysWing; saya420; itachisgurl93; creepy crab; Bella216; Barranca; twilightserius; WrittenINSharpy; mi5tan; animelvr; Madame Penguin; ladydhampir; demon'sLOver; lala; A.C.Y.P.; 14thEternityNightMare; NeckoFury; HiKaRi-ChIbI; -Nightly Halo-; counter-intuitive; fan girl 666; 16Echos; Failing Mentality; breaker99; ; jtwsnw20; Lightly; KyokaraMaohfan; WiselInfinity; Steff; KillerPen; Moxxi; DeadMike's Guts; Saharra Shadow; 107602; RandomPerson205; Abyssis; Merklin; MysticMaiden 18; gagougae; XxTaintedxDaggerxX; rianifitria; MangaFreak15; tati1; Koizumi Romi; Vongola Heir; Hikaru Uchida; Sarah; My Solitude; lyra; Minor Disaster; Imperial Dragon; falling moonlight; Evil E. Evil; yukino89; dontudaremesswithme; EvilPopcorn; silverXshadow; Night Kiryuu**

…

**Long Vacation**

…

**Chapter 11**

…

Naruto wondered if Itachi was the kind of guy who would go to Love Hotels.

Itachi had just invited him to a nice restaurant for their usual Friday night out –a place way nicer than the ramen stand they would usually go to on those nights– and Naruto was thinking of love hotels… what kind of random thought was that?

Feeling a little awkward, Naruto looked to the side, then he remembered that he had yet to give an answer to Itachi.

"I would love to!" He replied, jumping on his feet with a wide grin.

He quickly moved up to his room for a change of clothes, and when he came out, he noticed Itachi standing in front of the door.

Bizarre, he had not even heard the inter–phone ring.

"Itachi, what is it?" He called out, making his way to the taller man.

"Nothing." Itachi replied, swiftly shutting the door close. "It was a mistake."

Without looking at him, the dark haired man put the bold back into the door; Naruto frowned at the gesture –it was not like Itachi at all. Actually, that was a very Naruto–like thing to do. Definitely not an Itachi–like.

"I'm going to get ready now." Itachi supplied, casually walking towards his room.

Sitting down on the sofa, Naruto continued frowning; nope, this was not _nothing_. He was quite sure it was not _nothing_. He played around for a second with the idea to go to the door and open it to see for himself if the person, whoever it was, was still there.

Maybe… maybe it was Itachi's ex?

Yeah, well, that would explain why Itachi had dealt with whoever had been at the door so quickly, and had cut the conversation short…

Naruto bit his lower lip. If it really was Itachi's ex lover, he would really like to know what they looked like.

With a pout, Naruto stretched his neck to glance at the door of Itachi's bedroom; it did not seem like Itachi would be ready any time soon. If he was quick, maybe he could catch a glimpse and his room-mate would never know…

Stumbling away from the sofa, Naruto quietly ran up to the door, his hand pressing on the handle, and then stopped himself.

What would someone who had shared intimate moments with Itachi be like?

He felt a twinge of jealously at the thought that someone else could know more about Itachi than he did, and his frown deepened yet again.

Naruto worried his lip, slowly turning the handle and taking the bold off.

Did he really want to see?

He creaked the door open; there was nobody in the corridor, and the sight of the empty space filled him with mixed feelings –relief or disappointment. He did not even know what to feel.

He let out a sigh, turning around.

"Naruto?" A voice from behind him.

Naruto froze. He knew that voice, and it was certainly not belonging to Itachi's supposed ex! Pushing the door open some more, he caught the glimpse of a pink bag covered with giant Monoï flowers.

"Sa–Sakura?" He asked, a bit disorientated.

"Tadaima (1)." She announced boldly, walking up to him with a grim face.

Looking at her, completely shocked, Naruto could not even reply.

This was definitely something he had not been expecting.

What was she doing here?

Was this even real?

"Aren't you going to let me in?" Sakura scolded him, pushing past his motionless body. "I saw you got yourself a room-mate. Is the rent my parents are asking you to pay this high?"

Naruto watched as Sakura unceremoniously got inside, glancing around with her head tilted to the side, making herself home in _his_ apartment; he was at loss of what to do.

Glancing at Itachi's door, he tried to predict what would happen; any time now, he would open the door of his bedroom, and then, then what?

He would see Sakura!

Oh, he did not want Sakura to see Itachi. He did not want Sakura and Itachi in the same room, if he had a say in it. Naruto did not quite understand why, but he did not want to end up somehow hurting Itachi's feelings.

He took a deep breath.

It was simple –this was all about what _Naruto_ wanted, right?

"And what Naruto wants, is to have a nice dinner with Itachi." He whispered to himself.

Looking up at the woman, he noticed she had switched his television on, and was sitting on his sofa with a bored look on her face.

"Oi, Naruto! Didn't you get my luggage inside still?" She complained.

His eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but… you have to go, now!" He replied, his voice harsh and cold.

She turned around, suddenly equally angry.

"This is my home, Naruto. I can come and go whenever it pleases me." She claimed, jutting out her chin.

"No, you can't."

Naruto's eyes fell on Itachi who had just exited his room, and there they stuck. He could not really look away from him –he would seen Itachi in more casual clothes numerous times, but the ones he was wearing now made him even sexier. The skin–tight red shirt made his pale complexion stand out, showing bits of his torso, a pair of faded blue jeans, and the look was complemented by a black leather jacket which was open and hung loosely, giving Itachi a bad-ass look.

As a whole, Itachi was drool–worthy.

Oh, Naruto really did _not_ want Sakura to see _his_ drool–worthy Itachi!

"Sakura, you can't stay here!" He finally ripped his eyes away from the dark haired man and looked back at the pink haired woman.

"Why?" She replied, making her infamous puppy eyes, which had never failed to make Naruto break down and do her bidding. "Naruto, you _have_ to help me!"

"I have to help you?" Looking at her incredulously, Naruto felt a bit light-headed.

"Yes, _have_ to! Didn't you say you wanted to 'make me happy'?" she replied quickly, remembering the words Naruto had used not long ago when he would asked her hand in marriage.

He took a deep breath. "And what, pray tell, makes you think I'd still want to make you happy after everything you've done to me?"

That was, at least, what he wanted to say but did not.

This was not Naruto's style, after all. He would never say such bitter words to someone, not even the woman who had not presented at the shrine on the day of their marriage.

He tried to quickly think up a reason not to let Sakura stay; she had already ruined his night, and it would only make it worse if she stayed, and he did not need to look at Itachi to know that he was glowering in barely suppressed anger, and disappointment.

And it was Naruto's fault. If only he had not opened the damn door…

He pouted.

He had never been able to make Sakura do what he wanted, not even once. She had always had the last word in all their arguments. He did not feel like he would be able to do it differently this time either, only bend to her will.

"You are a very rude person, Miss." Itachi's smooth voice broke through Naruto's thoughts, making him aware of the situation again.

He stared on as Sakura turned her now anger–filled eyes to Itachi.

"What?" She screeched, her jaw visibly tensing.

Oh, this was one of her weaknesses, and Naruto knew it: Sakura had always claimed to have the most delightful manners, and that no one would ever be able to point at her for rudeness. A claim she had made a point to make a reality. She would not accept any criticism on her manners from anyone, not even her own mother.

"You are a rude person." Itachi repeated, and Naruto thought he had never heard a voice colder than the one Itachi was using now.

"I've been praised for having the best manners." She stuttered out in reply, caught off balance. "No one ever had anything to say on how I've conduced myself before."

"Good manners dictate that one should ask before entering another person's house, and that they should not waltz in, claiming ownership on it." Itachi lectured, voice still cold. "Good manners would be to excuse yourself for the disturbance you are causing, and then take off your shoes upon entering someone's house, no matter whom the place belongs to. Good manners dictate that you should definitely not order for your things to be taken inside without consideration of the occupants' feelings".

"Y–you!" Sakura was seething in anger. "I don't even know your name, and yet you dare… criticize me?"

"Good manners would be for you to present yourself before claiming the rights to know the name of one's host. Because you see, young lady, I am your host here. This," He waved his hand around for good measure. "is my house." He finished, in the out most polite tone that only existed in Japanese language.

Naruto stared at the scene unfolding in front of him with wide eyes; he had not expected something like this to happen, and he had never been the victim of Itachi's verbal assault, but nevertheless, he was feeling the strong need to bow in apology, turn around like a defeated dog and step out of the apartment.

"I… I…" Sakura's lips twitched.

Naruto watched expectantly, hoping that Sakura would do the sensible thing for such a situation and apology, even if she had to let go of her pride doing it.

"I'm Haruno Sakura." She stood up from her seat. "And I own this flat."

Naruto let out a soft sigh. That was to be expected with Sakura, even when she had to step back in defeat, she was far too prideful to let something like this go without a fight.

"My name is Itachi." The taller man replied, a smirk gracing his lips. "And I've got a legal leasing contract of this apartment."

"… and?" Obviously taken aback by Itachi's comeback, Sakura frowned.

"And if you don't straighten up your act now, Miss Haruno, I will call the police. Having to choose between I, the person who pays the rent, and has a legal claim on this apartment, and _you_… who do you think they are going to arrest?" Itachi replied, and his voice sent a shiver of fear down Naruto's spine.

The blond man continued watching, this time with amusement, as Sakura's skin turned a shade of grey.

"Naruto?" She wailed, turning to him with eyes filled with tears, in a clear plea for help.

Taken aback again, thrown into the fight so suddenly, Naruto almost felt like he got punched in the face.

"Sakura…" He started, trying to remember the basic law class he would take in university. "Itachi is right. You are not even mentioned anywhere in the lease contract. Your parents didn't think you would come back, so they accepted to receive a rent for the apartment from Itachi and I. Legally, even if it is yours, you can't claim ownership of the flat." He explained.

"But you surely won't throw me out. Please, Naruto! I have nowhere else to go!" She pleaded, showing her vulnerable side and knowing it would aid her in her demands.

Oh, he knew that trick! It was the one Sakura used only when she was truly desperate, and it had never, ever failed. He bit the inside of his cheeks, glancing back and forth from Sakura to Itachi, unsure of what to do.

"You can have my bed." He finally relented.

He disliked his attitude towards her, but he really could not do otherwise.

Sakura beamed in happiness at yet another win on Naruto.

"… I will sleep on the sofa." He added, going out of the apartment to fetch Sakura's luggage.

As he helped Naruto get Sakura's bags inside, Itachi leaned forwards, pressing one hand on the blond man's shoulder to make him pause.

"You can sleep with me." He whispered. "My bed is big enough for two".

Naruto blushed a deep shade of red.

That could be an idea.

…

Iruka always had a knack for judging people; he could easily tell the good from the bad with few words or actions. For example, he had disapproved of Sakura since the very start, finding her way too childish and frivolous for his taste –and he would hit right on the nail with her: a person able to abandon her own parents, was in no way reliable.

Now, Iruka had to admit that compared to what he had feared, the man he had just spent a day talking with was definitely in the good list and, in his evaluation of the man's character, Iruka had not spared Minato anything!

He had asked him every detail regarding his life: since his first memories as a child, to his coming back to Japan; Moving to every sordid details of the man's love story with Kushina to his running away to the States, and even his life–saving meeting with Rin, and the death of his parents. Minato had been grilled like a criminal, but Iruka could care less about being too inquisitive. It was Naruto that this was all about. Iruka would never let Naruto be hurt again, if he could prevent it.

He knew that most of the information he had received had been sensitive, and the man gave it out willingly, even if it obviously hurt him in doing so. Iruka could not have been more pleased with the seriousness the man had demonstrated in order to be able to contact Naruto.

"One last question, if you please." He began after a pause. "I want to know… what are you going to do now in regards to Naruto?"

Iruka stared at Minato intently as a heavy silence fell onto the room.

"I…" The blond man started hesitantly, as if not knowing exactly how to express his feelings. "I just want to know him… and for him to know me…" A pause. "I don't know myself, actually… but I feel like I'm being dishonest with him right now. I know… so much about him, and he knows a bit about me, as he told you. But not the most important information… I feel like I'm hiding away like a criminal, yet… I'm not a criminal!"

Minato clenched his fists on his lap, looking down.

"I do not want to hide any more. But… I don't know how to do it. It's like there's a glass wall between Naruto and I that I'm trying to break, but I can't manage it. No matter how hard I try, or how long I try… I just… I just can't find the right word. Nor the right moment…" Minato tried to explain.

"There will never be a right moment." Iruka interrupted.

"That's what I feel. And that's why I came to you for advice".

Iruka allowed himself to smile.

"Wise is the man who admits of needing advice." He muttered, standing up from his chair.

"I cannot help you on this matter." He informed the other, watching him deflate. "You have to figure this out by yourself. The sooner, the better."

Gathering together all the dishes scattered on the table, Iruka walked to the kitchen.

"The more you wait, the more difficult it will be to tell." He added as an afterthought. "The harder Naruto will take it, too. If I were to give you an advice, it would be to tell him soon, maybe tomorrow. Do not delay it any more."

…

'_What time is it?'_ Naruto wondered briefly, slowly blinking his eyes open.

The first thing he saw as his sight cleared, was Itachi's face: it was so close that he could see every detail on the pale flawless skin, those dark shadows under his eyes, those long eyelashes which looked like they belonged to a woman. He did not dare to look down at the other man's lips, for fear that he would act and not be able to stop himself.

"Like what you see?"

Dark red eyes snapped open to stare directly into his own, and Naruto could feel the hot breath against his own lips.

So close…

Naruto leaned forwards a bit, not even realising he was moving…

A bang echoed from the kitchen, calling Naruto back to reality, making him jump out of the bed and out of the room in a second.

"Whaaaa?" He exclaimed, entering the kitchen, uncaring whether he was half naked, only in his boxers.

All his pans were on the floor, and Sakura was standing in the middle of the whole mess.

"Ah, you're here…?" Sakura asked in a half–concerned voice. "I thought you were gone to work, since the couch is empty."

"It's Saturday, Sakura… I don't work on weekends." He answered in a matter–of–fact voice, gathering his pots together and rubbing at his eyes.

Trying to ignore Sakura, Naruto put himself to work; he had to prepare breakfast for Itachi, since he did work on Saturdays. Some minutes later, Itachi left his bedroom fully dressed, throwing a shirt on Naruto's head as he passed by.

"Get dressed, or you'll get a cold." He muttered in his ear as he served himself his first cup of tea of the day.

Naruto flushed crimson at the proximity.

'If only Sakura were not here…' He briefly thought, biting his lower lip.

Argh! What was he thinking? Itachi was not like that… Itachi would not be looking at him like that, and he ought not to bother him with those kind of silly feelings, either. Speaking of feelings, what was it that he was feeling exactly?

Naruto winced as a drop of boiling oil fell onto his hand; he quickly removed the pan off from the fire –the fish was ready. He made it slide into the plate and opened the rice pot, taking a spoonful of it, balancing it in Itachi's favourite porcelain bowl.

"There." He served Itachi.

It was clear that Itachi did not even try to be a good host on their imposed guest, and was all but ignoring her, leaving her looking quite uncomfortable in a corner of the kitchen.

"Itadakimasu (2)." Itachi murmured, bowing to the plate.

A heavy silence slithered into the apartment, only interrupted by the sound of chopsticks on porcelain. It was awkward, and Naruto did not like it at all. The day had a good beginning, at least that was what he thought… but then Sakura's presence had messed it up, and the day and Naruto's mood both had gone down the drain because of it.

He was so absorbed into trying to find something to say to break the silence that he barely noticed Itachi muttering his usual 'Gochisousama deshita (2)' and leaving the kitchen to return to his bedroom.

"You know, Naruto… I can understand that you felt lonely after I broke up with you..." Sakura began, finally speaking up.

Naruto frowned a bit, looking up to the woman sitting on the farthest stool of the kitchen; where was she going with this?

"… but I won't accept you turning gay because of that!" She continued, her tone final. "Don't get me wrong –there is nothing bad about being gay. But I really don't want to be known as the girl who turned her ex gay."

"What the HELL?" Naruto exclaimed, surprised at Sakura's declaration.

"As a friend..." Sakura continued.

"A _friend_?" He choked out bitterly, in disbelief.

"As a friend," Sakura repeated harshly "it is my responsibility to warn you off that path."

Naruto froze, seething in anger. He could not believe what Sakura was saying.

"That Itachi person..." She spit out his name as if it was poison.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto tried to reign control on his emotions so not to blow at Sakura's tone.

"… he's definitely not for you. You will find another person, Naruto… a nice GIRL." Sakura stood up, her tone gentle, taking Naruto's silence as an agreement to her statement and as a plea for help.

"_Shut up_!" Naruto yelled. "You've absolutely no rights to come here and tell me whom I should or should not love. And if I loved Itachi, it wouldn't be a matter of concern to you. It is simply my business! Keep your nose out of it!"

Naruto felt good. He had finally let out his anger on Sakura, and it made him feel refreshed. He had never been harsh with her, never raised his voice against her, never cursed at her… but she had gone too far now!

She had abandoned him while knowing it was his greatest fear, his greatest pain: being left behind like that, just like his parents had done. And yet, she had done it. And now, she dared coming back, calling herself a friend, trying to give him advice, talking about 'responsibility', and bad–talking on Itachi?

What a joke!

Had she accepted the responsibility for his broken heart? For her mother's? And her father's? What about Ino's pain and guilt? What about the gossips back at work? The hard time they had gone through, all the people she had left behind with not even a second thought?

Did she take any responsibility for all that?

No! She had not! Yet, she would take her responsibility for whom Naruto could love?

And the way she had talked about Itachi, as if he was a lowlife, he could not forgive that.

"Sakura, apologize!" He ordered, still brimming with anger.

The pink haired woman blinked at him, in surprise. He grabbed her arm, harshly pulling her out of the chair, leading her to Itachi's room.

"Don't make me repeat myself." He threatened. "Go in there and express regret to Itachi now, or… or.. or you're out."

Sakura glared at him, tugging her arm out of his grip.

"I won't. I have nothing to apologize for!" She pouted. "That guy is no good!"

"Then you're out!" He replied, and once again grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her to the front door.

Sakura remained on the entrance, shocked, as he started throwing out all of Sakura's things in a pile in the entrance's square. He did not care if he broke something, he did not care if her eyes were glistening with tears, and if she was looking lost…

He faltered in his actions, coming back to his senses a bit.

What was he doing, throwing Sakura out like she was an unwanted beggar?

Well, she was unwanted, and she did beg him for help, but…

He stopped for a moment, staring into Sakura's eyes. Was this really what he wanted? Sakura out of his life, forever?

No. that was not what he wanted. Sakura was precious to him even though not as much as she had once been. He wanted to help her, he wanted to be there for her. That was the reason why he had let her in the previous day: he realised that he had never really been of any help to Sakura, getting her out of trouble she created, covering up for her mess… even accepting her for the night had not been of any real help to her.

Instead of helping her, like this he had only hindered her. That made him responsible for her childish attitude somehow. He had excused her for too long: helping her, consoling her, patting her back and accepting everything she did without thinking it twice himself.

Not even once he had tried to make her realise her own mistakes. She had become too used to do whatever she wanted, hurting people and throwing away opportunities offered to her, without anyone to tell her off, that she ended up uncaring.

She was carefree… too carefree.

Naruto shuddered. Maybe the situation was worse than he had assumed: maybe Sakura did not even realise that she hurt people! If things went on like that, she would end up like some loafer!

"I'm not banning you from my life, Sakura." He suddenly stated.

He needed to find a way to explain Sakura what he wanted her to know, but it was hard.

He scratched the back of his head, hesitating.

"I just want you to think about the consequences of your actions, for once. You came into my house, into Itachi's house, and you insulted us both… I cannot accept that. I won't coddle you any more, Sakura. It's over. As you said, WE are over." He explained, finally coming to a decision.

Sakura was his friend. Maybe she was not a good one, but that did not change the fact that she was, and this was his way to help her. Because Sakura had to understand now that she could not be scot–free from her mistakes any more. She had to finally walk into adulthood and stop acting like a spoiled child.

He held the door open, and showed Sakura out.

"I am sorry, Sakura." He bowed a bit, all traces of his previous anger gone.

Then, slowly, he shut the door close behind her.

Maybe he had been too harsh, maybe he should have allowed her to stay a bit longer, just until she found a new place to live in, but…

'Now is not the time to have second thoughts, Naruto.' He berated himself.

"What reason did I have to tell her all that?" He wondered out loud, as he moved to the kitchen. Maybe some cleaning would do good to his nerves.

"And… about Itachi…" Naruto lamented.

He stopped for a minute, eyes darting left and right, and flushed crimson, unable to stop himself.

Itachi was still in the house. He surely… he surely heard everything!

Naruto wanted nothing more than somehow morph into a mouse and hide himself somewhere dark.

How could he face Itachi now?

…

Sasuke remained awake all night long, thinking about what his brother had told him.

"Not like my usual prey…" He wondered loudly.

Did he have a pattern that he did not even know of?

He had tried to be as random as possible in his conquests, so to avoid entering into a pattern: from the fake blond popular singer to the glamorous over–thirty single drama actress, to the girl–next–door type met on the street. He could not see a pattern in there.

Anyway, he would not give up in his pursuing of Naruto, and that was his decision; he liked the sunny blond he was easily reeled up and he was easy to make him flush. Sasuke had not had this much fun in a long time, if not ever. And he planned on playing around with Naruto for as long as he could.

Maybe he should just aim for a friendship with him, it would work. But Sasuke did not believe in friendship. Nor did he believe in love, for that matter.

He might have entertained once this naïve idea, that love might exist: reading all those child tales, it was even easier to pretend belief. Yet, watching his parents had proved him wrong. He had felt so bad when he had finally understood: there was no 'falling in love', or any of that romantic nonsense. It was a fable, an illusion created to give weaklings a reason to live on.

Sasuke was not weak! He did not need to delude himself with a dream of 'love'. Real 'love', as he had come to understand, was naught but a fair deal: you had to be of use to the one who told you 'I love you', and they had to be useful to you if you answered back with the same line. This was all that there was to it.

Once, he had had half an idea to ask his father for an arranged marriage. It would surely work, with the kind of complicity that he had come to associate with a wife and husband relationship… but he had never wanted to give someone, much less his father, that much power over his life.

Sasuke sighed.

He would get a lot out of pursuing Naruto, that he knew. Yet, he could also lose quite a fair bit of his influence. Maybe, when he got tired of the blond man –which was, considering his previous conquests, something that would not take long–, he could pass it off as a way to cope with a heartbreak. After all, his last breakup had been quite messy: the woman had even attempted suicide, and the mess had been cleaned up by Itachi, minimizing the bad publicity for Sasuke. He had managed to pass it off giving Sasuke the role of the man who had tried his best, but had not been able to help the poor, depressed, disorientated young actress who had accessed stardom too quickly, unable to support the pressure.

Sasuke had been praised and even –he shuddered remembering that– pitied for his courage.

"My love was not strong enough." He had had to whine on some talk–show once.

Yes, he could pass it off easily. It would make him seem more vulnerable –something he disliked– and let him slip into a new role: the Young Cool Bachelor persona was getting too old in his opinion, and the more he kept it up, the more difficult it would be for him to get rid of it when the right time would come.

Smirking to himself, Sasuke nodded in satisfaction. That was what he would do: seduce Naruto, and the blond man would help him achieve new highs in his career.

…

Maybe he should call Miko–san.

A sudden, strong sense of guilt washed over him, making its way to his heart.

Miko–san. Sakura. He had to tell Miko–san about her. He had been so worried in regards to Itachi that he had completely forgotten to call Miko–san, when he had promised her to call if he got any news about Sakura.

And now he had kicked Sakura out... if he had called Miko–san instead…

Biting down on his lips, Naruto felt even more guilty. He had thrown out the chance for Miko–san to see her daughter, and all simply because of his stupidity!

Why could he not had contained his anger? Why had he been so short tempered, when usually he was able to keep himself in check?

Taking out his cell phone from the pocket, Naruto looked guiltily at it.

"I have to tell Miko–san." He scolded himself, trying to overcome his guilt. "There is no 'what she doesn't know won't hurt her' kind of thing now. That's not how it works. She has to know."

Taking a deep breath, he scrolled down the call list. 'Haruno Miko' flashed as he got to it, a small picture of the elderly woman looking at him, almost as if demanding him to be quick.

He hesitated; no, maybe he should not do it over the phone. What if Miko–san fainted again just because of that?

And then she would have to tell her husband... Naruto would rather be the bearer of the bad news, especially if it concerned that old man.

Making his way to the lobby, now his mind fixed on the thought of going to see the woman, Naruto slipped on his shoes; he would have to take a cab, it would be faster like that.

The couple would be home today. They usually remained cosy together, enjoying each other's presence during the weekends.

The trip to their mansion was fast, and when he got there he paid for his taxi fare, walking towards the imposing wooden door with quick steps, not even looking at it twice as he walked around the house to get from the outer garden.

The elderly couple was taking a walk there, and he cleared his throat, announcing himself.

"Aa, good afternoon Miko–san, Higashi–san, I'm sorry to disturb you..." He started, bowing to apologize for his intrusion.

"Oh, Naruto-kun!" Miko–san exclaimed, smiling. "It is good to see you."

Higashi–san merely nodded in acknowledgement, not speaking.

"Come in, come in!" Miko–san moved to Naruto's side, pushing him inside the house. "I will prepare some tea!"

With a sigh, Naruto wondered how he would be able to explain to them the situation with Sakura without hurting them.

"Naruto–kun, is there something bothering you?" Higashi–san, noticing his strange behaviour, looked at him almost worriedly.

Naruto licked his lips, looking guiltily down at his hands. He waited patiently, praying for Miko-san to take her time with the tea.

When she arrived back, her hands full with the tea tray, and put it softly on the table, he took a deep breath.

"So, Naruto-kun, why the sudden visit? Not that I'm complaining, I enjoy your company." Miko-san asked with a smile, prodding him to talk.

Naruto took a sip of his tea trying to get some time, but found out he had already emptied the cup without noticing. He looked up at the couple hanging expectantly for his explanation. He licked his lips again.

"I… I saw Sakura." He finally stated, voice breaking halfway. "She was at my apartment yesterday. It was such… such a drama, I should have called you as soon as I saw her at my door, but–"

"Is she still there?" Higashi–san asked darkly, furrowing his eyebrows.

He looked angry at the news of his daughter back in town; it was probably because she had not bothered to even visit them.

"No, I… I had to show her out, in the morning." He muttered back, feeling ashamed of himself.

"You are a nice soul, Naruto–kun." Mikosan stated, easily noticing how the blond man was berating himself over the matter. "Letting her in for the night, was more than anyone would have expected you to do for her."

"I think she plans to come back to you after she succeeds with whatever she's set out to do. I am sure she wants you to be proud of her," Naruto stated, frantically trying to excuse Sakura's behaviour towards her parents.

"No need to make up things for her uncouth actions!" Higashi–san cut him off. "She made her own decision, and I doubt she even thought about our stance in this."

Miko-san bowed her head trying to hide her pain, and it broke Naruto's heart. He watched silently as Higashi-san took his wife's hand in his own and slowly caressed it in a reassuring gesture.

"I think she might have gone to Ino's…" Naruto said after a moment, as he stood up to leave, bowing to the couple. He had already overstayed his welcome, and he knew the two would need some time on their own now.

Higashi-san nodded his thanks, taking his wife into his arms in rare display of open affection that they both needed so much.

Naruto took a deep breath, feeling their pain as if it were his own.

No, he could definitely not understand Sakura's actions toward her parents.

…

Sakura was pissed.

Naruto had kicked her out.

HER!

He had chosen that pretty toy boy wannabe over her! The 'woman of his life', as he had once called her!

Preposterous!

And now she found herself sitting on her luggage, waiting in front of Ino's apartment building like some frigging hobo, literally boiling in anger. She had even been asked by Ino's concierge to 'stop disturbing the peace of honest, hard–working people with your whining'.

She could not believe how mean that woman had been!

Sakura groaned, looking at her watch: Ino would not be here for another hour or so. She contemplated what to do, her whole day gone to waste because of Naruto!

She pouted. She could not understand why Naruto had been so mean to her.

And what with that stunt about not coddling her any more? Was he still not over the marriage thing?

It only meant he was still clinging to stupid thing! She had explained him quite clearly what it had been all about in her letter. It was logical to her that Naruto should accept the fact that they were not made for each other.

They were so different, he should realise this, right?

What with him being an orphan and all that jazz. He could not understand the burden of having overbearing parents like hers, and he surely was lucky, in the end!

Her parents, they wanted to control everything about her life, giving her orders under the false guise of advice: 'you're so beautiful with black hair, please rethink your decision to dye them pink', 'please think about your future, you cannot go on without a good education', 'it'd be better if you waited to have a more stable situation before getting married'… they were always like that, forcing their opinion on her without even listening to her ideas, without even thinking she had one to begin with!

They thought they knew what was best for her, but Sakura knew better. They were not in her mind, they were not in her place. She knew what she wanted, she knew what would make her really happy, and she did not need advice from others! Especially not from her parents, who had never enjoyed a single day of their lives, and would never do something without knowing it would earn them money.

Sakura sighed, feeling righteously angered still.

She had done her very best to please them while she was younger. Yet, even if they had never voiced it, she had always had the feeling she was a disappointment for them. Reaching their expectations had never been enough. She had to go further up, to be better than that.

She had tried, honestly. She had. But they never cared for her effort, only wanted more, and more. Yes, they praised her! Sure… but they never showed her off, congratulating her like her friends' parents did.

It clearly meant she was not good enough for them. That she needed to do more to receive that outward praise she wanted.

But, once she got Sasuke–kun, they would be proud of her. She was sure of it. Not only would she marry off in a good family that was way over their expectations for her –especially considering the precedent she had had: Naruto– but she would get a good deal of the money they seemed to crave so much.

They would be proud! They would praise her and show her off to their friends with pride and satisfaction! She was sure they would!

She glanced at her watch again. She had wasted some time recriminating already, so Ino should be there any minute now. She took out her phone and called… nope, Ino had not turned her own phone on yet.

She pouted. She bet Ino was staying behind, talking with her students, without knowing that Sakura was there, waiting for her help!

Ino always did that, and she was far too chatty. But today she had no time for that, she needed to come back as soon as possible!

…

Emotions were for the weak. That was what Itachi's parents had taught him.

Love, hate, friendship, happiness, all those silly feelings were weakness that other would exploit against you if you gave them the chance to. Consequently, there was no place for any feeling in the life of the successful and strong.

No more feelings meant he would be the best.

That was the rule Itachi had always lived by. And it always seemed to be for the best.

But today, today had been different. He had been unable to suppress the anger as Sakura spat out his name that way, telling the blond that he would be no good for Naruto –in other circumstances, he would not have cared the least but this time it was different, and his heart felt like it had leaped in joy, hearing Naruto telling that bitch Sakura off.

And now, Itachi was confused. He knew he was physically attracted to Naruto –that was the only reason he considered to form any sort of relationship before -and Naruto had not been an exception to that rule-, but that attraction seemed to be deeper than he had anticipated. It seemed to be something else. Something different.

For the lack of a better word, that _scared_ him.

He felt, for the first time since forever, like a small child standing in front of a tall mountain. Frightened, scared, and he had never felt like that ever before. He did not like it.

He had considered walking away, just like he had done times before when less strong ties had been formed before he had realised what was happening. But his heart already constricted painfully at the idea of leaving Naruto, and that was also another worryingly thought.

Itachi closed his eyes, pressing his back against the seat.

What did he do? He allowed himself to get attached to someone!

Itachi let out a deep, weary sigh. He had always kept things strictly physical, at least on his side. Nothing more, nothing less. And now, he found he had literally fallen for the blond man, without even a valid reason. This should have never happened.

"You know, they say that every time you sigh it's a little bit of your happiness going bye bye." A voice interrupted his thoughts.

Itachi looked up. He had been so deep in thought that he had not even realised he was back home.

Home?

Had he just called the small flat he shared with Naruto… home?

Itachi blinked, trying to straighten himself up. He needed to get himself back together fast! He had never considered any place he had lived in as 'home', not even back then with his parents, and he could not just start it now.

"Hmm." He grunted as an answer.

"Okaeri," Naruto muttered moodily, pouting at the clear lack of enthusiasm from the dark haired man.

"… Tadaima," Itachi finally stated, almost against his own will.

For a moment, he had felt the strong urge to tell something to Naruto that would make that sour expression disappear from his face, and he did not even know what had come over him.

Still, the reward for his simple word was Naruto's ridiculously happy grin, and it spread a warm feeling through Itachi's chest. The tall man simply could not stop himself from craving more of it.

Grinding his jaw, Itachi inwardly backed away.

He had the intense feeling that Naruto had become like a drug for him: could he go on for a day without seeing that smiling face? Could he even get up in the morning, if he was not to see those brilliant blue eyes greeting him then?

"Are you going to stay in the entrée way all the evening, Itachi?" Naruto looked over Itachi's shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the older man's eyes.

Blinking at the sudden closeness, Itachi extracted himself from his thoughts and stood up, carefully avoiding contact of any sort with Naruto.

"I've prepared a dinner for us, seeing that we couldn't make it yesterday night. After all, it's my fault we couldn't make it, right? Curiosity killed our night." Naruto joked lamely, feeling sheepish.

Itachi looked around the room, finally taking notice of the few different things: were those candle holders? With lit candles?

"The power goes off if I put the ovens on at the same time together with the living room lights." Naruto explained, shrugging. "I will need to call for a specialist to look that up. In the meanwhile, I decided to choose the ovens over the lights, if you don't mind."

Itachi stared at the black double–candle holders, staring at the candles burning slowly, and felt his brain whirr into a full stop.

"Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes." Naruto continued, not noticing his stillness. "If you want, you can take a bath in the meanwhile."

Itachi grunted. A bath would be a good idea. His muscles were sore from sitting for the most part of the day, bending over the computer screen, typing mails and whatnot.

He entered the bathroom and was suddenly hit by the warm moisture of a freshly filled bath. Itachi smirked –someone might even have considered it a smile– as crazy thoughts of Naruto playing the Japanese wife filled his mind. He wondered briefly if Naruto was going to come into the bath himself to massage his back like any traditional Japanese woman would do.

Shaking himself out of such silly thoughts, he quickly undressed himself. He must have been more tired than he thought, if he had such ideas randomly popping around.

Itachi dutifully splashed the cold water over his sore body, scrubbing at every inch of his skin; the sooner he finished, the sooner he would be able to let his body rest in the heaven of hot water which was waiting for him a few feet away.

Minutes later, he finally dove into the bath, finding it the perfect temperature. Closing his eyes, he let out a soft, satisfied sigh. The evening was looking on better and better.

He shook himself away from drowsiness at a knock on the door and Naruto's voice from the other side: "Dinner is ready in a few minutes!"

Blinking tiredly, Itachi realised he had almost fallen asleep. He sighed, lifting himself out of the bath with a displeased grunt, drying himself before looking for something to put on, expecting to have to wear the clothes he had worn all day.

Instead he found a neatly folded pile of clothes that belonged to him, the same outfit he had been wearing the day before.

He lifted an eyebrow; he had chosen that particular outfit to gain Naruto's attention, but, with the incident with the pink haired bitch that had ruined their evening together, he had not had the mind to notice what Naruto's reaction to it had been.

Nevertheless, the outfit had reached its desired effect: if Naruto had been willing to cross the privacy line of Itachi's room to fetch it for him, it clearly meant Naruto wanting him to wear it again.

This time, Itachi would be able to gauge Naruto's reaction, and try as he might, at the thought he could not make the predatory smirk that took place on his lips vanish.

He took a seat at the table, his eyes fixing on Naruto's back who was still moving around the kitchen, garnishing the dishes and adding the final touches to the dinner.

Itachi did smirk when Naruto turned around and stopped in his tracks to trail his eyes up and down the taller man's frame, taking in his appearance and obviously quite flustered by it. Even if it had been Naruto the one opting for that outfit, it clearly had quite an effect on the younger man.

And that made Itachi very pleased.

"I tried to prepare a Kaiseki (4)." Naruto began, awkwardly trying to advert his eyes from Itachi and to the first plate of Kaiseki he was holding. "I… uh, I hope you're hungry…"

Itachi lifted an eyebrow. It must have taken quite some time to prepare all those dishes by himself, and none of them was easy to do either. All of that for a private dinner such as this…

His eyes never left Naruto as the blond man travelled from the kitchen to the table, arms full of delicious–looking dishes, placing them down in front of Itachi.

And they _were_ delicious, indeed, he thought as he took a first bite on the appetizer. The taste was just as he liked it. Perfect.

The taste was spectacular, and it touched something in Itachi that he did not quite know how to address. The particular flavours rolled on his tongue, mixing together the salty sauce with the sour after-taste of the vegetables, mingling together with the rice and the fish…

It had been a while since he had last tasted something as elaborated, a kind of flavour that he had only ever been able to taste in expensive restaurants, yet with some sort of homely feeling to it that a restaurant, in all its cold, impersonal set-up, lacked.

Itachi found himself taking bite after bite of the appetizer, then taking big portions of all dishes, surprising even himself with the hunger he could barely appease, eating more than he had ever had before.

The roasted tuna, the grilled vegetables, the pot in the middle of the table, with various chunks of different kinds of meat inside, the white rice as a side–dish…

Everything was _delicious_.

The dinner passed nicely, punctuated with short bouts of conversation, sometimes just nonsensical –mostly on Naruto's part– and mostly in a comfortable, pleasant silence, and all the dishes were emptied.

Taking a last bite of the Melba Peach, Itachi had to think, once again, just how delicious everything had tasted.

The after-taste lingered in his mouth, together with a not–quite–a–smile, that made Naruto smile back.

Itachi admitted to himself that Naruto's cooking skills were far better than most people's –even Mikoto, who, before marrying Fugaku had been training to become a chef, had something missing that Naruto possessed.

Of course, contrarily to Naruto, who clearly enjoyed cooking, Mikoto had always detested the very idea of dirtying her hands in the kitchen. The only things she actually liked to cook, were cakes that could satisfy both her husband and her own sweet tooth.

Her skills were nonetheless commanding, and her cooking often praised by her guests, much to her delight, and that was the only moment she actually seemed to brighten up.

Shaking his head, Itachi pushed the bitter thoughts away. No need to go there when he was in such a delightful company, besides it was clear that, to Naruto, cooking for someone was the best way to show his skills, yet he did not look like he expected Itachi to compliment him either, and that made him the more worth of praise to Itachi's eyes.

Standing up from his seat, Itachi slowly walked to the kitchen, intending to help Naruto with the dishes. Far from a chore, washing and placing everything away was the perfect excuse for small talks and not–so–accidental skin contact, which was exactly what Itachi was looking forwards to.

With a smirk lingering on his lips again, he nodded. It was about time to make his move.

…

**Tsudzuku**

…

(1) Tadaima: I'm back. Okaeri: (in answer to tadaima): Welcome back.

(2) Itadakimasu: Thanks for the meal (beginning of the meal) Gochisôsama deshita: Thanks for this delicious meal (end of the meal)

(3) Moshi Moshi: The Japanese Phrase one says when one answers the phone.

(4) _**Kaiseki**_ is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner.

NB: I know that Japanese, for the most part, work on weekends. But I wanted/needed people to have their week-end off (apart Itachi because he is a workaholic)

Review please?


	13. Chapter 12

Hello there,

Thanks to my Co-author **StarsOfYaoi **XD

Thanks to all the reviewers: **mione the kneazle; Sarah1281; Stargazer **(why would Ino be the one kicked out of her own apartment because of Sakura? Ino will have to take the matter in her hand and make the right decision herself)**; runes01; 107602; Bella216** (Don't forget Naruto is the most unpredictable person out there)**; itachisgurl93; itachisgurl93; piratepenguin666; Narutopokefan; Kichou; DarkRavie; Hikaru Uchida; 2468097531; counter-intuitive; demon'sLOver; Eien-Kiseki; yue no rei; saya420; saya420; DeadMike's Guts; HiKaRi-ChIbI **(thanks a lot. I'll try to think of putting more of Itachi's POV)**; FadingFascination; prettaygrl93** (Sorry I'll try to have it moving faster but it all depends on my inspiration and I prefer it slow than rushed...)**; fan girl 666; blucross; Felnore; Barranca; rianifitria; nicula; StreetRacerSakura; hnned** (thanks. Hope this chapter will meet up your expectations)**; ILOVEGAARA; Ana Lilly; Mesonoxian; pluby001 **(Thanks. Sakura is certainly not as evil as she seems to be...)**; Cassa-Andra; sweetyamiyugigirl; a kitsunes light **(Thanks)**; shironeko-hime** (Thanks)**; lordvio; KitsuneDango; hima **(Did I put dot? Grrr I should have put it the French way! Only virgule to show decimals)**; Whiteinu1; Disaster; Fey Nim** (X3); **Firehedgehog; KitsuneNaru; breaker99; glambam** (Thanks ;D)**; YamiPimpster; pennypigeon; Ivy Raven; Frida (Thanks); Kags21; Kyuubi-ismy-homie; Nostalgic Beauty; MookFree07; Imped.**

Sorry for the wait. My Co-author got a very strong case of writer block. ;_;

…

**Long Vacation**

…

**Chapter 12**

…

Naruto felt slightly hyper that morning, and had thus decided to eat a couple of Itachi's favorite chocolate pocky; this had caused him to go on a very long, one–sided debate with himself on which pocky Itachi would take with him on a deserted island: would it be strawberry, or maybe dark chocolate?

Naruto chuckled as he tried to picture in his mind a happy Itachi on his island filled with pocky, acting a bit like Droopy:

_'I'm happy.'_ He would say in that apathetic voice of his.

But then, despite that rather amusing subject, he was back to a more interesting and serious one: what had exactly happened the previous day?

Naruto blushed at the thought.

Taking a moment to reflect about their night, Naruto had to admit that he had dared breaching certain subjects with Itachi that he had never thought about sharing with anyone else before, not even Sakura.

It had been surprising, even frightening, in a way – he had never been this open with someone, nor had he ever felt such a connection with another person as he had felt with that man.

Then, there had been moments where Naruto would catch himself staring at Itachi, admiring his features – his face, his hands, his eyes, his lips…

Had he fallen in love with Itachi?

The notion itself seemed entirely too ridiculous to Naruto, really.

Falling in love.

Love was something you had no control over, yes, but… Naruto did not think that love could be this easy. For him, love had always been about hardships, just like the ones he had had with Sakura. He had imagined Love to be like a battle for the heart of his chosen one, nothing more, nothing less.

With Sakura, he had had to fight to get her love. He had given her everything he had, he had grovelled at her feet and slowly he had finally succeeded. He did not expect someone to fit so perfectly in his life without him doing some hard work for it, and yet…

And yet, with Itachi, things had not been like that at all.

It had just happened. Just like that, he had literally fallen under the spell of love.

Naruto had to chuckle to himself at this disgustingly romantic notion.

It felt something that would fit to Sakura or Ino or even Miko-san… but it strangely worked well in his situation just as much.

What should he do now, though?

He could not just walk up to Itachi and confess his feelings to him like he had done with Sakura. It could not, _would not_ be that simple.

Besides, he was not even sure about his feelings, and denial or not, he did not want to embarrass himself without a good reason. Not to mention it was _Itachi_.

Things were still rather complicated. First, it was a guy, and his roommate, too. Not to mention it had just been something that had suddenly jumped on him without warning…

Damn it, it was too complicate, and he did not like that. And thinking about it did not change things.

How to find out if his feelings for Itachi were real in a way that would not make him feel like an idiot?

Naruto let himself fall down on his bed, staring emptily at the ceiling. He sighed.

This silence was unnerving! He needed to talk about this… this something!

But with who?

He needed someone who could give him good advice; someone who would not make fun of him, and that he could be sure would not go around tittle-tattling to anyone about Naruto's confession to them.

"That writes off a good chunk of my friends." Naruto chuckled to himself, shaking his head slightly.

Naruto thought briefly about the list – short, but meaningful – of trustworthy people he had.

His dad was out, there was no way he could talk about his love life with Iruka! NO WAY!

He could always call Hinata, but she was better at listening than giving advices, and he did not really need that at the moment; plus, she would surely be with Kiba at the moment, and Kiba would talk his ears off with complains if Naruto were to disrupt one of his dates with Hinata.

Shikamaru then? The lazy bun surely knew how to offer good advice! But it was the week-end and he was surely back to his hometown, in Hokkaido, watching clouds in someplace where cell-phones could not reach him, not even if they tried hard.

Shizune? Now, that would make Tsunade and Jiraiya suspicious, and they would try to bully poor Shizune all day long to know what the two had been so secretive about… even though he knew that his secret would be perfectly safe with Shizune. He trusted her to keep her stance against overbearing Tsunade and self–proclaimed Super Pervert Jiraiya but he did not want to make her go through something like that.

Naruto tried hard to think of someone else he could eventually confide with, but the list ended there…

Ah, he would have to figure everything out by himself, then!

Naruto pouted, looking for a quicker solution to his problems.

All of sudden, as he followed the creaks on the ceiling above his bed, Naruto had a brilliant idea – why not look into Shoujo manga?

Of course, any man in their right mind would do a double-take at this idea. None of them would ever consider doing something that could give such a blow to their manly pride, but Naruto did not have any other idea, and he was growing really desperate.

Besides, it was not like Naruto would go to a comic store and buy some manga anyway.

No, Sakura had tons of those conveniently hidden under her bed back at home, and much to Naruto's delight, there were a lot under the bed that should have been theirs, too.

Naruto felt his mouth form a thin line as he remembered how Ino had secretly come to him in order to share Sakura's little 'vice' – hiding shoujo manga under her bed for faster access. He remembered quietly laughing with Ino as they secretly snatched a good portion of Sakura's collection to hide under the soon-to-be married couple's bed.

It had been exciting, and Naruto had easily pictured Sakura's affronted – but secretly pleased – expression the moment she would find them…

Briefly Naruto had to wonder if Ino had known at that moment that Sakura would not end up living in that apartment…

Shaking his head, Naruto banished that thought. It was not the moment to think about depressing things like that. He had other things far more important to think about, after all… first and foremost, how to find out the depth of his feelings for Itachi.

After all, if he wanted to be honest with the man, he would have to see just how much he felt for the man. He did not want to hide his feelings from Itachi. Even if he ended up being rejected, at least he would not have hidden anything from him.

If he remembered correctly, there were one hundred thirty-seven manga volumes and two hundred eighty-nine magazines hidden underneath his bed. It would be seriously a pain to go through all of those, but Naruto was determined to find an answer.

Maybe it would be best to start from the magazines, they were full of those farfetched, stupid tests about love, and he remembered just how much Sakura loved doing them and forcing him to answer the silly questions, too…

Maybe it was a bit too hopeful, but maybe one of those would help him find the answer.

…

Kushina woke up early that morning.

She needed to be perfect for her appointment, she could not allow herself any fault: her entire plan depended on it. She even had to go to the SPA – which was, by far, her less favorite activity, since it meant she would have to stay still for long periods of time – in order to be perfectly refreshed and _ready_.

With a smooth, practiced move, she pushed her walk-in dresser open, looking for the perfect outfit she would wear.

Glancing through her closet, she frowned slightly; she hated most of those outfits, they had been bought for her by the now-deceased kappa. She especially despised that horrible light pink Chanel suit – it was a real eyesore.

Maybe she could burn it, she thought with a smile. Along with that horrible Dior dress the Kappa had bought her a few winters back.

Haute Couture! Those were truly ugly little things!

A bonfire in that snobbish decorative gas hearth was in order, it seemed. It had been installed by the Kappa, too, so one more reason to use it for that…

That infuriating Kappa, he was a snobbish show-off with no style in opposition to her dear Minato.

She shuddered in anger.

Kushina hated that Kappa. She hated him, and what she had had to do for scraps of freedom; he had her on a leash, just like a vulgar bitch… she barely had control over her own body, thanks to those pills that Kappa had forced her to take.

A tearing sound echoed in the small space, shaking Kushina out of her dark thoughts.

While she had been lost in her memories, she had apparently tore the sleeve of one of those horrid haute couture costumes.

Kushina blinked, staring at it, then let out a small, clipped laugh. It was looking better now.

Her eyes then fell on her white Versace suit. This one would do; it was her favorite, and it was white – perfect for summer.

Moving to her vanity, she quickly and expertly applied a light makeup on her eyes and cheeks. She would have to apply lipstick later, since she did not want it to be gone by the time of her appointment.

Next, she slipped on her favorite red high heels and sauntered off to the private elevator in her brand new penthouse; a rented limo was waiting for her right in front of the apartment complex.

It was expensive, but she would never move around without that status symbol, after all.

"Madam." The driver bowed deeply, opening the limo's door for Kushina.

She smiled sweetly, entering the car with a smooth movement.

"Be quick, my appointment is at 9.30," Kushina informed the man with her sweetest voice.

She took a deep breath, verifying that she had every document she needed; she had to ensure some sort of control damage on Kyûbi's scheme… so many people had been caught into the man's web of lies.

So caught up in her thoughts, she was surprised when the door of the car was suddenly pulled open. She was already arrived at her destination, it seemed. She smiled brightly, taking the hand the driver was extending towards her, and skilfully dropped some bills in his palm for his disturb.

She glanced up at the imposing building in front of her, admiring the slightly modern architecture of the structure, which was harmonious with its surroundings; something her Minato could have designed, had not be been chased away by the bastard Kyûbi.

Entering quickly the building, she went directly to the toilet – it was time to add her lipstick and complete her make-up.

Kushina looked at her reflection in the mirror, slowly placing her carmine lipstick. For her there was no need for Merlot or Wild Orchid, no, her favorite color, a good old carmine, just like that of American divas of the after-war was all that she needed.

Curving her eyebrow, she gently pulled on the strands of hair of her fringe, trying to smoother it; it was straight, falling just at the edge of her eyebrows. Perfect.

She took a deep breath.

Slipping her lipstick back into her leather bag – too big for her frame, she noticed – she arranged it on her shoulder, trying to make it look less hideous and imposing.

There! She was ready to go.

Kushina trotted down the hall, swaying her hips and listening to the sound of her heels clicking loudly in the empty corridor; she felt powerful, walking down those white marble galleries. Powerful and in control.

"Gatou Kushina, I have a meeting planned with Mr Itachi." Kushina smiled condescendingly at the secretary.

Here. She would finally meet the person who would help her end Kyûbi's scheme. A perfectly sensible person, just like her, who would be able to see the true danger her little demon was.

Things were looking bright already.

…

Ino arranged her flowers one last time, then looked up at her father, silently waiting for his reaction.

He smiled benevolently at her, then nodded; that slight smile, a simple curve of his lips and a crease around his eyes, was such an important thing for her.

Ino sighed in relief, feeling the tenseness in her shoulders melt away. She had always craved for her father's approval.

Even when she had made her debut in the modeling industry, going against her father's wishes, she had still secretly wanted him to approve of her choices. That day, he had looked at her in disappointment for the very first time, explaining in no uncertain terms that if she wished to continue down that road, she would not live in his house anymore, as he did not want his name to be associated to such frivolous things such as fashion.

Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending your stance on it – Ino was, if anything, stubborn.

She had refused to back down, and had accepted her father's ultimatum. She had always wanted to be a model, to feel all the eyes on her, to see her photo in those glossy magazines, just next to her idols…

And as such, for two long years, Ino had not set a foot in her home.

Whatever news she had came from the sporadic, sneaky calls of her mother, and that was it.

Then, on the day of her graduation, she had seen her father for the first time in two years; he had seemed so much older and tired to Ino that she had instantly felt guilty, knowing that she had been the one to give him so much grief.

Even though she had wanted nothing more than bow and apologize, her pride had stopped her.

Now she remembered how coldly she had spoken to her father, just like a disrespectful, ungrateful brat… but her father had just stared at her with a proud smile on his lips as he congratulated her for graduating.

Ino had never felt more like a fool, and she had never felt so relieved, too. And that day, she had promised to herself that she would always work hard, in order to make her father proud.

"Ino?" Her father called out.

Ino shook her head. Now was not the moment to think about the past. The past was the past! She had to live in the present.

Speaking of present, she had better get going – Uchiha Sasuke had invited her team to a party at the hotel he lived in, and she had to get there on time.

The first time she had seen him, he had impressed her with his professionalism.

He was the dark, handsome heir of the UCHIHA estates. He had girls swooping all over him, for God's sake! And despite that, he still treated each and every one of them with an uncharacteristic gentleness while he refused them…

And even though he was a notorious playboy, during the two weeks they had ended up working together he had not shown any interest in her other than a professional one.

That would have put Ino off, if not for the fact that she had no interest in that guy who was inadvertently destroying her friendship with Sakura.

She did not want anything to do with that man, even if it was not entirely his fault.

Ino wanted to put all the blame on the man for her failing friendship with the pink haired woman. She wanted to slap him, yell at him until her throat was raw, scratch that beautiful, emotionless face until it would show only the ugliness of that arrogant man who had taken her best friend away from her…

Not for the first time, Ino wondered why she had accepted the Uchiha's invitation.

Sighing, she straightened the creases of her dress; she wore a beautiful ensemble of a vibrant green.

As her fingers played with the hems of her shirt, she straightened her back with determination. She would not stay long anyway – the mandatory hour, then off she was to bed.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, Ino wondered if she should do something about her hair: a French twist, maybe? No, too sophisticated. A good old ponytail would do.

The simpler, the better, like her mom used to say.

"Ino, can we talk a little?" Her father's voice called out from behind the closed shoji doors of her old bedroom.

"Yes?" Ino answered, allowing her father to open the door and shifting into the room without a noise.

"Are you going out tonight?" The man asked.

She nodded, smiling.

"I won't be out too late, dad, I _promise_." She mocked with a little girl's voice.

"I just want you to have fun. You don't look so happy recently." Inoshi stated carefully, worry clear in his voice.

Trying to dispel her father's worry, Ino sighed. "It's just… with Sakura and everything…"

"It might sound rude of me, but I'm really happy that you can finally stretch your wings out without Sakura…" Inoshi explained as he swiped a strand of stray hair out of Ino's face. "Don't mistaken me, I like little Sakura. But I cannot approve of the woman she has become."

Ino looked away from her father, cheeks red. She wanted to scream at her father that no, her best friend was a good woman with nothing to be ashamed of, but…

She could not. She could not find the words to defend her friend from her father's harsh words, because Sakura had hurt her more than once, had used her and continued doing so even now.

"I want you to be your own woman, a woman YOU can be proud of." Inoshi continued. "I want you to be someone who knows when to help her friends and when it's just best to leave them do their own mistakes and repair to them. Don't let anyone hurt you in the name of friendship."

Ino bowed her head, biting the inside of her lip to stop herself from replying harshly.

She wanted to rant at her father: it was easy for him to say that! It was not _his_ best friend having difficulties. She could not let Sakura down! Not now when she was all alone!

Then, she had to wince when she heard a little voice whispering how Sakura had just dug her own grave.

She could not allow herself to think like that!

She had to be there for Sakura, Sakura was her best friend. They did everything together! They were Best Friend Forever! If one had a problem, the other would always find ways to help. Sakura had been with her through the highs and the lows in her life: it was with her that she had celebrated her first contract as a model; it was with her that she had bawled her eyes out when her father showed his disapproval; it was with her that she had whispered about her secret crushes; it was with her that she had cried when they had ended…

And her father was asking her to consider throwing it all away, just like that?

Inoshi tenderly cradled his daughter cheek with one of his big, rough hands.

"You're like a flower, Ino. If you keep too close to another flower, you might end up overshadowed and your grow will be stunted."

Ino looked down at her hands.

If she had to be completely honest with herself, she would have to admit that her father's words hurt so much because they were true.

Her private life had suffered greatly, and had turned into a desert simply because she had always been too busy taking care of Sakura's life for her to create one of her own.

The people she could call friends were so few she could count them on the fingers of one hand, and most of them were from her high school clique, or from her work.

She never had time to socialize with anyone unless Sakura was also there, and then, the pink haired woman would take all the attention to herself, and Ino would allow her too.

When Sakura needed a friend to talk with, Ino was quick to free herself.

Whenever Sakura was in deep trouble, Ino would always be there to help her and cheer her friend up… but Sakura rarely did that for her as of late.

Yet, she did not want to acknowledge that; she still considered Sakura a friend, even though Sakura was a bit self conceited and egoistic, and she could not let her go completely. That was not how Ino did things.

That was not how Ino was.

And still… her father was right. She needed to show Sakura that there were times Ino needed to shine on her own, and she needed to remind herself that her life did not circle around Sakura all the time.

Ino had every right to live out for herself, make some new friendships, meet different people, and live it out.

"Maybe you should go to that party now, my little flower." Her father gently called out. "Please… have fun."

"Yes, Dad. I will!" Ino replied, taking a determined step out of her room, leaving her dad in there.

It was about time she made her own life, for once!

As she left, she ignored her phone on the table at the mansion's entrance, as Sakura's ring tone echoed in the now empty lobby.

…

Sakura bared her teeth in anger when the hostess of the Sake-ya not-so-politely demanded that she was escorted out of the shop, and the two gorillas of the security sized her by her elbows.

Okay, well, she did dump their favorite blond on the altar – and since Naruto had invited the entire team of the sake-ya workers at the wedding, there was no way they would not know about her little stunt – but they did not have to be so rude about it!

One of the gorillas pushed her forwards none-too-gently, and she stumbled on her feet, tripping and falling; she lifted herself up slowly, brushing the dust off of her dress before turning around to defiantly glare at the bodyguards, scowling.

Then, she stormed away, humming in dissatisfaction.

There were other popular places in Kyôtô. There was nothing overly special about that particular Sake-ya anyway! She would just go down the road to Taku Taku (1) instead!

Just like always, of course, the place was buzzing with the insistent noise of music coming from the not-so-well insulated door on the side, and Sakura softly hummed in time with the tune as she made her way inside the packed parking lot in the front of the club.

Checking inside her purse to make sure she had the ridiculously cheap – in her opinion – entrance fee, she approached the door. Taku Taku was really a cheap club, but they still played good music and a lot of foreigners came around to have some fun and dance; it was a good place to find a lover for the night.

Sakura frowned. She was not here for that, though! She did not need that kind of thing anymore, she just needed her Sasuke!

The bouncer at the entrance was one she had seen pretty often, and she knew him rather well, too… at least enough to know his name, but that was it… though she did not quite remember it now.

Oh well, she would surely remember it later on – it was of no importance anyway, he was just a bouncer in a small club, while she was one of the princesses of Kyôtô's night life.

She smiled cutely at him, careful to look right at him coyly.

As her habit, she walked up to the bouncer, ignoring the long line in front of the entrance, fully expecting him to readily open the door for her with a slight bow of deference, as he always did.

This time it was different. The man did not move one inch, standing there, completely still and ignoring her.

"What is it?" She asked, shocked at the intimidating, foreign attitude of the bouncer.

"You can't get in, young lady." The man explained in his rasping smoker voice.

"What?" Sakura frowned.

This was not just unexpected, this was ridiculous! How dare he?

She was the _princess_ of Kyôtô's night life!

She always got into clubs without queuing, she was served free drinks and danced through the night without having to worry. A word from her and barmen, waiters and bouncers alike would be fired like one would snap their fingers.

"You're on the _persona non grata_ list, young lady." He explained calmly.

"There is surely a mistake!" Sakura claimed, looking as incensed as she felt. "I'm HARUNO Sakura. My name can't be on the _Persona non grata_ list! It's simply not possible!"

She heard snickers coming from behind her, and she turned a bit to glare at the culprit, seeing a giggling duo of minxes that were waiting in line; when they noticed her staring, they sneered in her direction and returned to whispering with one another.

"You're on the _persona non grata_ list, young lady." The bouncer repeated mechanically, his eyebrows lowering to disappear behind his eyeglasses.

Sakura snarled in anger: The persona non grata list! That was _Outrageous_!

That idiotic macaque had no right to say such a degrading thing to her!

She would show him what she was capable of, and when she was through with him, he would be begging her for forgiveness!

"I want to see the manager!" She barked, glaring at the man as if daring him to refuse her.

"That is not possible, little Lady." The guy calmly answered back, as if bored by her attitude.

"Not possible? _Not_ _possible_?" She fumed, her voice raising in tone.

If that guy thought she was not going to make a scandal, he was sorely mistaken. Nobody refused Haruno Sakura. _Nobody_.

"Listen, little Lady, you're a _persona non grata_ and that's all."

The man pushed Sakura away from the line and the other clients, allowing his colleague to take over his work as he dragged her aside.

"I'm _not_!" Sakura insisted. "I'm HARUNO Sakura, the daughter of HARUNO Higashi of the…"

"You could be the Empress herself, if your photo and name are on that Black list, you won't get inside, period." The Bouncer answered harshly, cutting Sakura off in the middle of her rant.

"You are sorely mistaken!" Sakura yelled. "I'll prove it to you! And when I'm done, I'll have you fired!" Sakura answered back spitting in the bouncer face.

"You are free to prove it to me wherever you want, but not here, not now," the man replied curtly. "Get out of here. Now."

Sakura fumbled with her purse, looking for her cell-phone as she was forcibly pushed away from the club, the man not using all of his strength but still enough to show he was not kidding.

Sakura was fuming as she continued glaring at the man – if only Ino had been there…

But she was not. She had tried calling her before, and she had not answered.

She wondered why?

Ino always answered her: even when Sakura called in the middle of a date, or whenever Ino was showering, or at any hour of the night… Ino had never let her down.

She had always answered the phone.

So why not now?

Maybe she had run out of battery, that was possible, was it not?

Finally getting her hands on her elusive phone, she flicked it open. No text from Ino either.

She shook her head. That was not important now, what mattered was find the name of the manager of this place!

If only she remembered the bouncer's name!

She quickly checked her list, trying to remember under what name she had saved it as. She hoped it was not one of the numbers she had 'lost' when she had changed her old phone for this new one.

Forty four numbers under Ta, she fumbled a bit with the over-sensible touch screen. Why was the writing so small? Why could there not be less syllables in the Japanese language, honestly?

TaKu – only fourteen left. Her eyes scrolled down the list slowly, her fingertip touching the small button with care.

Ah! There it was!

_Taku Taku no Shinji._

She quickly pressed the call button and waited.

"Moshi moshi, Hashimoto Shinji speaking." A smooth voice replied after a soft click.

"Hello, Shinji-kun. It's Haruno Sakura on the phone." Sakura stated as she smiled smugly at the bouncer, who had lit a cigarette and looked rather unimpressed.

Sakura pressed the central key of the handset, setting the speaker on to be sure that the bouncer would hear what his boss had to say, and then would grovel once Sakura had him fired.

"What can I do for you, Miss Haruno?" Shinji answered politely, his voice echoing in the small side alley the bouncer had lead her into.

"I have a problem with one of your bouncers. He forbid me to enter Taku Taku, he even went as far as to tell me that I was on the non-entry list. It's preposterous, don't you think so? Anyway, I wanted you to tell him to let me in." Sakura babbled quickly.

"I cannot do that Miss Haruno." Shinji answered bluntly, his tone perfectly professional.

"That's so ni–" Sakura froze in the middle of the sentence.

Quickly fumbling with her phone, trying to turn off the speaker, Sakura got the handset back to her ear.

"What do you mean: you can't do it?" The pink haired woman squeaked, shocked.

As she listened to Shinji's answer, Sakura eyed the bouncer angrily.

"Listen, here! The owner is a friend of my father! He would never do anything that would upset the darling daughter of his friend!" Sakura argued.

Her eyes followed the bouncer's motions as he took a long, last drag from his cigarette before scraping the stub on the floor, throwing it in the nearby garbage can, his face still schooled into an uncaring expression.

"… Fine! There are better clubs than this one in Kyôtô anyway!" Sakura screamed into the handset before snapping the upper part of her cell back in place.

There _were_ better place in Kyôtô anyway! Places that were surely not crammed with Gaijin (2).

…

"ARGH No way! This is total RUBBISH!" Naruto screamed out in frustration as he read the last question. "_Do you feel like the world will end if you can't see him every day? Every time; Sometimes; rarely; never._ That's rubbish rubbish rubbish rubbish!"

Naruto threw the magazine on the other side of the room. What was it with those rubbish questions?

If that was how girls determined if they liked a boy or not, he did not want to know!

How could someone even think that answering this sort of thing would ever help in understanding whether they were in love or not? Were girls really this stupid?

Was he stupid too, since he was browsing Sakura's magazines for the same exact reason?

He took another magazine.

"_Ten easy way to show your crush you're interested in them._" (3) Naruto read out loud. "At last what I was looking for!"

With a smile, he looked at the list and read the points out loud.

"_1) Don't talk to them! Play the shy person who is afraid of talking to them. They should naturally come to you and begin a conversation. It's important for you to look nervous and fluttered when that finally happens."_

Naruto blinked owlishly. How could this help in any way? How could the person you were interested in realize your interest if you did not even _talk_ to them?

It was an idiocy. Besides, not all people could act shy and bashful… and was it not a lie anyway?

Hinata was shy and bashful, but she would never do it simply to get a guy's attention, that was just how she was!

"_2) Tease them in order to form a dependency bound. You'll wear them down until they give in and ask you out."_

Naruto let out a small laugh. "So bullying someone is showing your love?"

Incredulous, he continued reading the list.

"_3) Avoid them. Get out of the room the moment they enter, change route when you are about to meet them in the street. That should make them curious and lead them to go after you."_

Naruto raised a brow.

If you liked someone, would you not want to see them every moment of the day? how could one avoid the person they liked hoping they would get interested?

Besides, would that not give the opposite feeling to the object of love anyway? If he saw them change route or something, it would seem like they wanted to avoid them out of spite or dislike, and in order to respect that wish, the person would accept it and keep away…

Naruto wondered – could he do that with Itachi?

No. it felt too much like running away, and just picturing it in his mind made his heart squeeze painfully in discontent. Besides, they were living together, it simply would not work…

"_4) Upon unexpectedly meeting them, play it like you do not remember them. They, on the other hand, will remember you and will do their best to remind you who they are."_

Naruto read letting himself fall on his back.

That was stupid, and while it did not relate to Naruto this time, what if the Target did not remember them? Would they have wasted an opportunity just to play coy?

Plus, none of the people he knew liked being told they had been forgotten about. What kind of person did not remember their ex-lovers anyway?

Naruto remembered every single person he had loved!

"_5) On your first date, don't be stingy! Ask to split the bill. You don't want to let them think that they can have you so easily. Show your independent spirit! They can only love you more for that."_

Naruto blinked. It had never occurred to him to ask his date to split the bill and Sakura would have certainly taken it as an insult.

He remembered overhearing one of her 'after-date' talks with Ino about one of Ino's lunch-dates, at the end of which the guy had asked her to split the bill. He had invited Ino in a small nondescript restaurant across the road from where he worked; not only had the restaurant being really cheap, but he had dared to 'ask [Ino] to split the bill'.

Ino had answered accordingly – to Sakura's opinion – ad threw her still full glass right in the man's face before leaving the restaurant with an indignant huff.

Suffice to say, Naruto had never ever thought about splitting the bill. As a man, he felt it was the right thing to offer for the person he cared for during a dinner, not because he thought less of her or wanted to show off his wealth, but simply because it came naturally to him – offering something was not done because he wanted to 'score', but because that was what he felt was right.

"_6) Show your assets off! Push your shoulder back, flick your hair over your shoulder, put a little swing in your gait."_

Naruto was not sure about this one either: It seemed more like a rooster preparing to fight than a wedding parade.

Besides, strutting around like that would make others think you were an idiot or a stuck-up bastard. He had seen some girls acting like that, at times, and he had always thought they looked rather silly, not cute.

"_7) Flirt with their friends. In order to get out more information about them and get them a bit jealous."_

Naruto chocked on his spit. "Or they will think you're the worst slut ever." He added shaking his head.

Really, befriend the target's friend was one thing, but flirt with them? That would only serve to show the 'target' that they were not as important as they should be in your eyes…

"_8) Send your friends to test the ground for you. If they are good they can gather invaluable information, if not, they will give an obvious pointer to your crush._"

Naruto shook his head in dismay.

Another really bad idea!

He had done that once, for Kiba. He had been, in Kiba's opinion, the best choice since he was already with Sakura at the time.

He had gone to talk to Kiba's love interest of that time: a petite brunette called Anna. Turned out that Anna had no interest whatsoever in Kiba and, after that small flirting for the mission: 'Get Kiba the girlfriend he wants', Anna had taken into stalking Naruto, sure that he loved her. Sakura had to step in, spitting like a dragon, and Naruto had ended up with a huge red mark courtesy of Sakura's palm on his left cheek and Anna's palm on his right.

Fortunately, he had been able to work things out with Sakura, though not before having to give her some expensive roses – which had been worth half of his month's salary.

"_9) Talk about everything and nothing with them. Don't be shy to talk about your favorite animal or the last episode of your favorite drama! Giving them information about yourself without it being too forced."_

Well, he was doing that already. After all, Naruto hated silences, especially during dinner. He had taken the habit to relate his day to Itachi, talking about the small things that had happened to him during the day; he had been afraid that it would bore Itachi, but the man had never said a word about it, so Naruto had continued.

Sometimes, Itachi even participated on his own, giving small comments about this or that.

So, that was maybe one good idea, finally.

"_10) Ring them to talk about disastrous (not necessarily existent) dates. Seeing you hurt by other boys should awaken their protective instinct and help you win them over."_

Naruto frowned.

"I personally would not like it." A voice came from behind making Naruto jump in fright.

"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed, standing up in front of the newcomer. "Hi, Itachi. You're coming in early, today?"

"Early? Itachi raised a brow. "It's already nine, you know."

"Nine?" Naruto repeated a bit taken aback. "I did not realize."

Naruto looked around a bit panic trying to understand where the day had gone. And it was quite clear seeing the mountains of magazines sloppily piled around in what was once the living room.

"Ah, I'll clean it all." Naruto exclaimed picking up a few magazines.

"_Ten easy way to show your crush you're interested in them." _Itachi read aloud.

Naruto swirled around letting the magazine in his hands fall on the floor, his face turning a crimson shade.

"Ah… you see…" Naruto stuttered uneasily.

That was not exactly how he had wanted it to go. Itachi should not have found him perusing Sakura's girly magazines – what would the man think about him? – and definitely not reading them aloud like that…

But at the same time…

'This is the perfect occasion! It would be kind of awkward but at least it will be out of the way. To Hell with all those bullshit advice! I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I fear nothing and no-one!' He thought, forcing his hesitation away.

Naruto took a determined step up to Itachi and, perched on the tips of his feet, wrapping his arms around Itachi's neck, Naruto softly pressed his lips on Itachi's.

Naruto savored the softness of those lips and felt Itachi's arms slowly snake around his waist pushing him closer to the older man's chest as Itachi delicately nibbled on his lips, begging him to part his lips for him.

Naruto felt something like electricity run through him as he felt Itachi's velvet tongue passing along his teeth, exploring his mouth before slowly caressing his tongue. Naruto pressed himself against the other man, seeking to grant Itachi more access.

He closed his eyes wanted the moment to last just a bit longer…

…

**Tsudzuku**

…

**1 Taku Taku is a real club in Kyôtô. **

**2 Gaijin: foreigner**

**3 Those 10 reasons don'****t belong to me, they were found on the main page of yahoo, I arranged it a bit so it could fit in the story. :)**


	14. Chapter 13

Hello!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Long Vacation nor do I make money out of this. I simply get great satisfaction of having tones of review ;)

This chapter was written with the help of **StarsOfYaoi, **who feels like she is a horrible beta who can't respect schedules, and is very sorry and if you want to bitch you can message her.

Author note: I'm very sorry for the delay. This chapter should have been posted way sooner around 8 months ago, but unforeseeable events kept pushing back the release date. Please accept my sincere apology.

**Thanks all my lovely reviewers: ****Azure Flames; onidra****; ****itachisgurl93; counter-intuitive; Stargazer****; ****Elelith; NANA-Chan101; daemonkieran****; ****prettypurpletiger****; ****runes01; moeoep; Miyuki1393****; ****Kichou****; ****2x2justfau; saya420****; ****Sarah1281; blucross****; ****Narutopokefan; Eien-Kiseki****; ****MangaFreak15****; ****Lazaros****; ****Bella216****; ****mi5tan****; ****HiKaRi-ChIbI; Q3Apo; 107602**(sorry I could not answer your review via the site. I always find the "advices" in magazines to be very… bizarre and generally unhelpful)**; ****breaker99****; ****fan girl 666; RoxasIsReal13** (sorry but the site would not let me answer your review. I thank you very much for loving the story so much. I'm sure you'll love the new ItaNaru goodness in this chapter. I sure loved to write it)**; ****pennypigeon****; ****Maple100****; ****Nani; hypersreak****; ****ElementalFallenStar****; ****richon****; ****Saharra Shadow; kate-sama; Zenc-zenc; Keitsu Han'ei****; ****Unseen; ****Noien-sama; Snowflake****; ****Mina Hikari; TripOverFlatSurfaces**(Sorry I could not answer your review properly before. I hope you'll love the new development in this chapter on the ItaNaru front! As for Sakura being the victim of a bashing… it's only because it's convenient. She just happened to be the one Naruto liked in the manga… and I did not want to create an OC. Of course, she is totally Out Of Character here)**; ****hazel-3017****; ****Sesshomarus 1 heart stealer****; ****Artistic18****; ****Saniwa;****lover-of-light** (Sorry for not replying through the fanfiction site it would not let me do so. I did indeed found the "love advices" on the first page of a search engine. I found them ridicule and perfectly adequate for the story, so I use them.)**; ****Hesunohana****; ****Anonymous (X3)****; ****freaky bitch; anime music marshmellows love; pandora vanity****; ****loveliness decays; KyuuKitsunex3****; ****Rennasakura****; ****Frostfire613****; ****XxDevilxX199; sapphireblue12****; ****devilsxgirl****; ****Ryu Pendragon; akasuna hime (X2); Miso Muchi; Lawlipop In My Jeevas Mailbox; RukaRukia**** (X2); ****Islandmare; Astrophel Thracius (X2); AnimeObssesed1116; kasia110****.****  
**

**.**

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –  
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**Long Vacation 13**

**.**

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

.

Waking up next to someone, Naruto decided, was definitely a weird but nice feeling.

He had resurfaced from a deep, restful sleep slowly, cosily, languidly stretching in bed and allowing himself some time to wake up, eyes fluttering open to stare at the ceiling, confused for a moment before he remembered where he was, and why he could feel strong, warm arms around his shoulders, holding him close to a firm, naked chest.

Then memories flooded his brain and he relaxed instantly, smiling so wide he felt silly, and tilted his head up, shuffling a bit to move away from Itachi's body in order to admire the man who was embracing him.

Itachi was still asleep, his chest moving softly with a deep, even breathing.

He watched intently Itachi's visage, his curled eyelashes, so long, standing out beautifully against the pale skin of the man; he was handsome, and the thought that such a man was sleeping in bed with him sent a wave of fluttering giddiness through Naruto's belly. Blue eyes travelled down the slope of Itachi's nose, lazily regarding his chapped, pink lips with an intense stare.

Naruto licked his own lips, finding them swollen and tender, resisting the urge to shift forwards and press his body flush against that of Itachi, reaching out to lick his thin lips to see if he could moisten them.

The older man's hair was scattered all over the pillow, black streaks against white, and Naruto remembered the feeling of that soft, luscious hair under his fingers, how he had gripped it tightly, lost in pleasure and trying to find something to anchor him.

Closing his eyes, bathing in the feeling of Itachi's strong arms keeping him close even if the older man was still asleep, Naruto breathed in the familiar, intoxicating scent of Itachi's skin, feeling it washing all over him. He felt secure, relaxed. He felt like he belonged here in Itachi's warm embrace, and the feeling was overwhelming.

The giddiness only seemed to increase as he idly recalled what they did the night before, a soft blush covering his cheeks as he pressed his nose against Itachi's collarbone.

Their heavy breathing turning into short, needy gasps as skin rubbed against skin. The breathless sounds they made as they moved in unison, matching each movement, seeking each other out.

He remembered clearly Itachi's hands slowly caressing his frame, delicate and teasing, sliding against his neck, then his collarbone as they removed his clothes, leaving Naruto bare and open to the hungry, lustful gaze.

Just the memory of those eyes shadowed with desire made him feel hot inside, made his toes curl and his skin tingle.

Itachi had mapped every inch of his body, careful and gentle, every touch like a reassurance of his feelings and his need barely hidden behind his restrained composure as he made sure to find all the spots that made Naruto moan the loudest.

Itachi's tongue tracing his ear, sucking on his lobe, whispering sweet nothings with his voice dripping like honey…

Naruto had never been happier to let himself drown, coherence and words failing and only touches and feelings and sweet reassurance remaining behind.

Itachi had made love to him, owned him with words and touches and he had never felt better.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as understanding finally downed inside him: he was not a virgin anymore.

Not a virgin anymore!

His heart leapt to his throat as he choked down a squeal. He wanted to dance around in glee, shout to the world how happy he was. But Itachi's arms around his shoulders still held him captive, making him burn with this happiness he could not show.

He moved away from Itachi's collarbone, hoping to catch another glimpse of his lover's sleeping face, thinking that maybe that would be enough to calm him down. He was still tired, he did not feel like leaving the bed yet, it was too soon…

This close, Naruto could see Itachi's face: the tense lines had disappeared from his face, leaving his pale visage smooth and shiny. Naruto smiled, he wanted to wriggle and free one arm from around Itachi's motionless body to trace his cheek with a finger, but he feared that if he moved too much he would wake Itachi up.

He took a deep, satisfied breath: he did not have to worry –he could take all his time with exploring Itachi's face and his body later.

He gently laid his head on Itachi's shoulder, closing his eyes slowly, his smile stretching wider on his lips.

Ah… it had been a very good night, indeed.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

Sakura had had a very bad night.

After the fiasco at TakuTaku, one she did not even want to think about anymore, she had tried other bars.

One of the bars, not the very best but classy enough to be passable in her eyes, had a nice outwards appearance, and she had been pointed to it by a nearby couple who had just left it, so she had strutted there, ready to look her best.

She was making her great entrance, ready to test her seducing skills on a very handsome, dark-haired man, when one of her ex sex-friends noticed her. He had stormed up to her, enraged and uselessly pathetic, and made a scene, a scandal even!

Sakura had broken up with all of her sex friends –there were four, just above the average number of men a woman was expected to have during her life-span– just a week prior to her 'wedding ceremony'. Apparently this particular one, a charming dark haired, dark eyed man called Yukio, was under the misconception that he had been in for more than he had gotten.

Fidelity was not an option in their relationship –if it could even be called a relationship, since they had just gotten together to release some steam and for her to use him– Sakura was sure she had made it clear since the start.

Apparently not as clearly as she should have, though, because Yukio, just like many others, was nothing more than a brat who whined when he did not get what he wanted: in short, her.

Sakura might have found that flattering, any other time, but not since that little stuck-up had stormed up a scandal in front of all the people in the bar!

There were things Sakura could tolerate, and there were others that simply made her curl her upper lip in disdain, and trying to make her seem like a bitch in front of other people was definitely on the second list.

Could he not understand that he had nothing that interested her anymore?

Ah, of course he was rich, and handsome and popular… but all of this was nothing next to the aura of pure magnificence that her Sasuke–kun exuded.

Compared to him, Yukio was nothing more than an average-looking man with no resources nor charisma, one that Sakura had indulged into until better opportunities had arisen.

Nobody, no matter their looks, or appeal, could ever come close to Sasuke-kun, and he was her goal, and she would never stoop as low as this guy ever again.

Needless to say, Sakura had decided that the bar would be black listed from there on; she did not need anybody to remember her solely by that first bad impression. She needed to look perfect, to be perfect, and she could not accept that such a lousy person had dared to make her look so bad.

As soon as Ino was back from wherever she had disappeared the previous night, she would get her friend to help: the bar would be close in a matter of months, maybe even weeks. That would teach them to never try and ruin her, because she was as vindictive as she was beautiful.

To be honest, Sakura had hoped they would start organizing the boycott as soon as she had reached Ino's appartment, but unfortunately the flat had been empty, with Ino nowhere to be seen. Sakura would have to scold her for not tagging along; after all, was Ino not her best friend? It was a sacred duty as her best friend, to always be by Sakura's side to help her.

And not just that! Sakura was a guest at Ino's home, and what kind of bad host did not want to entertain their guest?

Well of course, Sakura could forgive Ino for her lacking actions. They were friends, after all, and there was no need to make poor Ino feel too guilty. Sakura needed her at her best, was that not so?

She had, though, tried to call Ino on her cell phone, only to have her call directed to voice-mail. Sakura briefly entertained the thought that Ino was filtering her calls… but no, she snickered, that was not possible. She was HARUNO Sakura. No one filtered her. She was the one who black-listed people, not the other way around.

Plus, Ino had no reason not to answer her calls, so Sakura was probably over-thinking it.

Maybe she had just lost her phone, or maybe… maybe she had found a new boyfriend. One she had yet to tell Sakura all about.

It could happen: Ino had not had a boyfriend in a while. Sakura had entertained the idea, more than once, to get her together with one of the guys she had tried herself, but then she had thought that none were good enough for her best friend.

To be honest, Sakura did not care who the boyfriend could be, not as long as Ino was happy… well, that was unless it was a person whose influence Sakura could use to get a bit closer to her Sasuke–kun. Ah, that could be why Ino had not told her about him?

Sakura remembered that Ino had once told her to forget about her Sasuke–kun, almost managing to look angry, and sad.

Sakura had been sure then that it was just because of the stir she had been the centre of when she had first caught the attention of her adored Sasuke–kun. He had been of course too shy to come to her then, poor darling, and, at the time, the person who had prevented him from finding Sakura and admitting his love for her had been an evil woman. Sakura was not sure about who she was, just some secretary or another –Ino had mentioned to Sakura how afterwards she had become her boss (surely through some underhanded method)– and Sakura just knew it: so jealous of the obvious closeness between Sasuke–kun and herself, the bitch had ordered Ino to keep Sakura away. Of course Ino could not refuse, it was her job! But she admitted that she had been a little peeved at Ino for choosing her job over her –even if she could understand.

Sakura gritted her teeth, a flash of anger passing through her face, then forced herself to calm down; she did not want to think about jealous little minxes anymore, it would only ruin her perfect visage. What better way to get those pesky problems out of her head than going to the hairdresser? She had seen what the latest trends in the US were: some exotic, queer hairdos that would look perfect on her.

She wanted to try them.

After all, as the princess of Kyôtô, she needed to be always Avant Garde, set the trends instead of allowing others to come first. That was how she had grasped control of fashion, how she was looked up at by crowds of young admirers, considered the star, the best there was.

Even if that 'best' was in fact ridiculous to her eyes –adding feathers to one's hair? How weird! But foreign women always looked so beautiful, so enchanting, even when adorned with feathers, and who was Sakura to condemn fashion trends?

She wondered if her usual hairdresser had heard of it already.

Chuckling to herself, uncrossing her legs and stretching them in front of her, massaging some life in her thighs, Sakura nodded: of course, Naomi would have heard of it. She was the best hairdresser in the whole prefecture… maybe even of the whole Japan!

Perhaps, though, she would have to make a stop at one of those fishing stands first, to buy some feathers. She had heard that this was where the americans found them…

She would have it dyed pink, too… to go with her hair.

Smiling in satisfaction, already excited by the new prospective, Sakura stood up, bouncing towards her clothes to get ready.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

Ino woke up feeling disgruntled.

After a few deep breaths, her mind cleared enough to understand why she was feeling so bad –she had a strong headache, burning from the base of her head and up to her forehead, making everything fuzzy.

She blinked a couple times, trying to focus her eyes on something, and looked around, trying to remember where she was.

Nothing of the room seemed familiar, though very luscious, and that left Ino even more confused.

What had she done the previous night? Where was she?

The ceiling was of a warm, soft colour, and the walls followed the same scheme, with arabesque–like patterns on beautiful wallpapers. The window was closed, but there was enough light filtering from there to give Ino an idea of how big the room was.

The bed also felt nice, much nicer than her own blankets.

She rolled over to the side, and groaned in pain; she had moved too quickly, and her head throbbed in pain, her headache only worsening.

"Ah the sleeping beauty is finally awake!" A voice whispered so close to her ear that she felt her hair stand on their ends.

Ino scrambled up in a sitting position, pressing one hand delicately on her ear as she twisted on the bed, automatically tugging the white sheets up to her chest, covering her body from waist up, and glared at the person who was at her side.

It was Sai, only wearing boxers, leering at her covered chest half-interestedly.

"Don't worry, we did not do anything." Sai said with a smile that did not quite seem to reach his eyes. "What you lack in some departments is actually the only thing I am interested into. You are, unfortunately not to my tastes."

Ino glared at him, feeling a rush of dislike for the man, then completely ignored him as she looked around the room, trying to think the quickest, most efficient way to gather all her clothes without showing too much of her skin.

She wondered why she was naked, if they had not done anything. Argh, her head hurt too much to think about it.

"… but you know," Sai continued, staring at her barely covered behind as Ino bent down to the side of the bed to grab her underwear, "I could always make an exception for you."

"You wish!" Ino answered quickly, struggling to put on her underwear and clothes on while also keeping the sheet high enough to cover her modesty.

"Ah, you so wound me," Sai replied, theatrically placing a hand over his heart.

The smirk on his face completely invalidated his words, but then again it was not like Ino believed him to begin with.

"Whatever, Weirdo!" Ino retorted, using the nickname Naruto had given Sai.

Ino was aware that Sai was… a very special person. He was rarely serious, always with a smile stretching his lips, and someone who liked to joke around. His sense of humour was also weird, and hard to understand… not to mention most of the time he sounded offensive, and he never looked apologetic either.

Still, she had spent enough time around the photographer that she could now almost claim to understand his mood changes. He might have always a smile on his face, and his words were always blunt, but he rarely truly meant to hurt someone, and his bluntness, rather than being harsh, was merely his way to be honest, although far too direct most of the time.

Ino had learned with time how to recognise whenever Sai was serious and when he was instead simply joking around.

Sai enjoyed having someone answer him on tone, and Ino was not one to pull her punches then; they bantered often, sometimes even teaming up together to tease Naruto, which was always fun; it made working with him a lot easier, and the vexing extra hours she had to take due to her slave-driver of a boss (apparently working as a model for the company's biggest client was not a good enough reason for Ino not to finish her paperwork in time; her 'selfishness' not being enough to make her workload shift over to her 'innocent co-workers') a little easier to take.

Sighing to herself, Ino knew she would have to go back to work the next day; she hoped that it would at least calm down her annoying boss, and prevent her from bitching too much.

She had considered filing a complaint to Obito-sama, but Ino was anything but a whiner, and she would not begin now, after all this time.

What would it say about her, if she ran crying to him because her boss was unfairly pushing more work on her shoulders?

Whining was for the weak, and Ino was _not_ weak!

Even if her boss was an annoying piece of bitch, who always delegated her work to others, complained about them, and tried to make Ino's life a living hell, that did not mean much. Ino could make it out of that job on her own strength, and become better and stronger thanks to it.

Besides, she was not going to stick around and make a career out of this job; she merely needed it to support herself until her father deemed her ready to take over his place as head of the Yamanaka's Ikebana.

When that time came, she would quit this unpleasant, unrewarding job, and go back to what she truly enjoyed doing.

Her skills in Ikebana, her father had bluntly stated, were improving, but were still not good enough for such an important, full of responsibilities position. Nevertheless, he had given her the opportunity to show her art, her skills, her improvements: a few weeks before, he had informed her that he would let her in charge of the decorations for the annual gathering of the masters of Ikebana.

It was a huge meet up, where people from all over the world would come together to enjoy the finer beauty of Ikebana art, and people of the calibre of KISHI Eiko, and SAKAGAWA Kikuto (who would be coming from Germany especially for the occasion ) (1) would be present, and judge her work then.

Ino's heart fluttered in excitement at the thought, and she was unable, as always when she let her thoughts stray to this big chance, to restrain a shiver of happiness.

Her dream was so close, at hand's reach, just waiting for her to stretch out and grab it. The thought made her smile to herself.

Maybe she could ask her friends to help, maybe even Naruto. He might not know anything about flowers –he could not even see the difference between a rose and a tulip on his own– but his cheerfulness, his eagerness and bright attitude would be the boost she would surely need when things would turn difficult.

This was a chance of a lifetime, and knowing she had friends who would not leave her side was already a great encouragement for her.

Ino, not for the first time, was thankful she had met such a good friend.

She remembered like it was yesterday the very first time Naruto had talked to her.

He had been actively wooing Sakura for a few weeks by then; he had cornered Ino after P.E., while she was standing guard for Sakura in front of one of the toilet doors.

Naruto had been shorter than both Ino and Sakura at the time, dressed with something silly and so unfashionable Ino's sense of fashion had been hurt on his behalf, and yet, he had been wearing that stupid, far too bright all-tooth smile on his face, looking hopeful and maybe a tad bit fragile.

He had asked her, all flustered and excited, if she could help him after school to choose the right flowers to offer to Sakura as a gift.

Ino had been annoyed at his presence –Naruto was not a subtle person, and he was also very loud– but she had felt flattered that the boy would go as far as to ask for her opinion when so many of Sakura's admirers had never even bothered to acknowledge her existence.

Ino was Sakura's best friend. She knew her inside out, and if any of them had tried to be nice to her, admitting they would need it, she would have helped them.

None had even thought about that, so she had always kept what could have been helpful tips to herself.

And yet… Naruto had a way with people. He could make them do whatever he wanted just by glancing at them with his bright blue eyes, so full of hope, so expressive. He had used them on her, too, begging her to help him, telling her that he could not do it without her, because Ino was important to Sakura, and Sakura was important to Naruto, and that was why he had gone to her first.

She had ended up agreeing, albeit a bit reluctantly, because she still did not know him, just so he would get out of her face. Those annoying eyes were making her waver.

Naruto had led Ino to a small shop she had never been into before. It was a few streets down the school, very close to where Naruto lived, and to be honest, it did not look like much on the outside. Ino had never passed in front of it, but just by glancing at it, without entering, she had classified it as not much interesting.

Once inside, though, she had had to change her mind. While small, it was a real maze of small alleys where flowers of all kinds were lined up neatly, creating walls of colours. Ino had been amazed at the amount of different plants, breathing in the multiple scents of all the various flowers mixing together in a very deep, powerful scent.

Potted Chrysanthemum and Geraniums blossomed beautifully in every corner, together with small bamboo samplings, every kind of rose Ino could name, and even dandelions, and Queen Anne's lace. There were plants she recognised but could not remember the names of, some bouquets artfully disposed on little, small Greek half-columns, and everything was placed in a way that showed that no matter how small the shop could be, it still had a lot to offer.

It was almost astounding for Ino, who had grown up surrounded by vast spaces with flowers neatly divided by groups, and who could not get enough of this tightly–spaced variety.

The counter was in the centre of the shop, square and simple in contrast with all the colours around, and in it there was an old man and a young woman busy working on a flower arrangement.

Naruto had dragged Ino around the shop, even though her eyes kept falling back on the duo and their work, wanting to see their skills, and he showed her all the flowers he wanted to buy for Sakura; he had stopped in front of the branches of Cinnamon flowers, first pointing at them, and then taking a few in his hand. Then, he had dragged into to the coral roses, choosing three of them, and trying to marry all the flowers in his hands together.

Of course, Ino had had to put her foot down at that; while the choice was not that bad –Cinnamon flowers could symbolize Naruto's deep love, and the coral roses his enthusiasm, reflecting Naruto's personality to a T– she had known Sakura all her life.

Unfortunately, despite the gorgeous bouquet that Naruto's choices would make, any flowers that were not pink would sadly be lost on Sakura.

In that, she was the quintessential of lack of taste. Pink was her sole colour, her love, her obsession, fitting everything to it, moulding her life, her clothes, her room, even her hair to all the shades of that colour.

Nothing else would do for her.

To be honest, Naruto had not seemed deterred by that set back. In fact, he had put himself to work for hours, trying to gather the perfect bouquet for Sakura under Ino's careful approval.

Ino had expected to grow bored, but… no. she had fun watching Naruto's antics, running around like a madman, clumsily trying to fix flowers together in what was growing to become an impressive pink and white gift.

She had whispered, snickered and goaded him along, laughed with him, not at him, like she had never laughed before. They had bonded, then, in a way she had not expected.

He had worked for hours on it, not even once losing his cheerful disposition, creating the perfect bouquet for his love. For Sakura. And Ino had watched on, slowly allowing herself to be taken amidst the whirlwind of Naruto's enthusiasm, cheering for him.

That day, Ino had realised how much she loved the colours, the odours, the soft yet sophisticate harmony of Ikebana compositions.

Thanks to Naruto, of all people –thanks to his passion, his cheerfulness– that day had rekindled in her the passion for the art that her family had strived to achieve for centuries.

Ino owed Naruto a lot, even if he would never know.

Shaking herself out of that train of thoughts, Ino found herself in front of her car, keys in hand, and realised she had left Sai's flat without so much of a parting word; she had been too busy recalling past times, moments in her life that had made her happy.

Oh, well, Sai would not get angry at that, and she would surely find a moment to talk to him, and make sure things were still ok.

Still, she had a lot of planning to do. She had to think of those colours, of those odours, simple or overly complicated, themed to the season or maybe centred on a single colour.

So much to do, so little time, and she had to hurry and start gathering together all she needed.

She could not wait for another chance to come along, this was her one opportunity and she would grasp it in her hands, squeeze it, and win it over.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

Itachi slowly opened his eyes, stretching his legs as far as they could go under the covers, and instantly he winced at the bright pink colour of the walls.

It clashed horribly with the neon orange and deep blue of the sheets of the bed, and it made his aesthetic sense cringe in pain.

His arms were strangely, upsettingly empty, so he stretched one hand to the side, feeling around for his bed companion.

He was alone in bed.

The sheets were not even warm in that empty space at his side.

Itachi frowned a bit, for a moment wondering if he had just dreamed it all –if the hazy memory of Naruto's naked body pressed against his own was naught but a creation of his mind.

Was it all a dream?

No, it was not, he assured himself.

Suddenly, as he shifted in bed, licking his lips and enjoying the residual warmth of his covers, Itachi felt his heart constrict in his chest.

The feeling was strong, as if someone had suddenly gripped him from inside, tight and unforgiving.

A fire lit inside him, spreading through his veins and making his skin feel like it was burning. At the same time, a cold weight settled in his stomach, heavy and thick. He felt so hot, and yet he was shivering, his teeth clenched tightly to prevent any sound.

Itachi gasped through gritted teeth, the sound barely leaving his lips as his nails dug into the sheets of the bed, holding onto them as he felt the dual sensation of burning and coldness fight one another, stealing his breath away.

He disliked this feeling, he hated how familiar it felt, spreading through him, clutching his lungs, forcing panic to raise inside him, making his whole body turn into a twitchy wreck.

A similar feeling had paralyzed him when he was just a young boy, making him feel weak, making him get so scared he almost never wanted to leave the house; every servant in the house had also grown familiar with it, sometimes having to give a hand to him, making him sit down and breathe in, breathe out, until it went away.

Even his estranged cousin, Obito, who had been in the past an older playmate, was privy to this confidence, although Itachi had never told his parents about it, nor his younger brother.

It had been his luck that his father was such a snob: he would rather have him tutored by the best teachers in Japan, rather than let him mingle with students who would evidently never be on par with the Uchiha prodigy. Itachi had been home schooled, much to his pleasure, which allowed him to face this burning feeling less and less.

The same had not been true for Sasuke, though –what was not good enough for the Uchiha heir was sufficient for his little brother.

But alas, Sasuke was not aware of Itachi's pain, either.

The oldest Uchiha heir had lived with those attacks for most of his life, so much they had become a common occurrence, appearing at every important moment in his life, without fail.

Each time he had to make a decision, important or not quite so important, his heart had felt like this –like someone was squeezing it tightly, like a punishment– and his skin had started burning, small trickles of fire lashing at his fingers, making them tingle. And of course his stomach, not wanting to be left out, had turned into icy lead, freezing over.

Itachi had spent a lot of time trying to understand the pattern of those attacks, in order to find out the reason, find out how to fight them, how to conquer this horrid feeling and come on top.

Itachi had tried researching the problem in the Uchiha library –an enormous, far too spacious room filled with row after row of books, some of which had not even been opened by human's hand before, but were still taken care of by the many servants of the family, so that not even one of them had a layer of dust on them– and the answer had been, much to his disappointment, simple:

Panic Disorder.

Itachi, a person who had so much on his shoulders, who was looked up at, whose father considered only for how much he was worth, for his skills and his genius, was prone to having panic attacks.

Reading about it, the details, the reasons behind which his disorder had been born, had helped Itachi understand what he was fighting against. The severity of the attack was scaled: it depended on his own stress, on the depths of the situation and how much it would rattle Itachi's mind.

Whenever Itachi himself was overly stressed, whenever something was demanded of him in such a way that he could never complain, never say no (which was basically all the time, because as the heir of the family, Itachi was forced to be always perfect), the attack would be stronger, cutting him deeper, always without a cure.

The books had been useless to find a way to help –they all listed one single thing as the only able to help and that was… therapy.

Itachi had been afraid then, and this fear had turned into another attack, forcing him to kneel in front of the bookshelf, panting and clenching his fingers inside the wood, inside the pages of the book, almost tearing them out.

He was afraid because… if he was not the perfect son his parents had deluded themselves into believing him to be, and they were to find it out… would they abandon him, like they had abandoned whatever had outlived its usefulness before?

His parents never cared for what they left behind; they never looked back, never felt badly for their harsh, unforgiving attitude. All they cared was their status, their pride as a family, all for show. Itachi was a perfect doll, a puppet born and raised to meet those standards.

What if he could not meet them anymore?

Would he be left behind to die, ignored and unwanted?

This deep fear, rooted in the knowledge, at such a young age, that his parents only ever liked him for his genius, was the reason Itachi had decided to work on it by himself, without asking help, without backing down.

He had worked hard to expose himself to more and more of the same situations that caused him panic, seeking them out with masochism, lips pressed into a thin line, heart racing in his chest, pupils constricted in fear.

It had worked.

A slow, painful process, but it had worked, and his attacks, controlled and steered into obedience, were now less frequent, only ever resurfacing when Itachi allowed himself to relax, and even less intense. Itachi could understand himself, and his feelings, better. Nevertheless, they were equally bothersome, happening at the most inopportune moments.

Especially, and that was the worst part, whenever his parents were around.

It was not much of a stretch to associate their presence with most of his attacks, and the starting root of his panic disorder.

Itachi had believed he had freed himself from this when he had finally broken the chains bounding him to his parents; the feeling of utter, overwhelming relief he had felt when filing off the papers that would free him from the expectations his parents had burdened him with. That day, he had left the family house without as much as a glance, nor a goodbye to his parents, had made him feel weak in the knees.

He had breathed in the cold air outside their mansion, closing his eyes and feeling better than he had ever felt before.

He had guessed that if he abandoned them before they could denounce him, it would be over.

Itachi had to admit that, if only to himself, he had acted similarly with all his previous relationships.

Abandoning them before they could find out, before _they_ could leave _him_, he had protected that weak part of himself that he disliked but that he could not live without.

It had taken Itachi a long, long while to finally approach the subject with the kind of honesty that was needed to face it without backing away, and backing away was exactly the problem.

Itachi Uchiha, genius prodigy, coveted and admired and envied by all, was a coward who ran away from things in order to not to face them. He, who had always considered himself so strong, was in fact weak, and hiding this weakness he only made it grew bigger.

As he remained sprawled on the bed, looking at the horrid pink ceiling, feeling his heart burn and his lungs burn and his stomach freeze, gasping through slow breaths, Itachi felt his panic spike even more as he wondered…

Would this bond be another tick in the long list of his failed relationships?

Instinctively, Itachi removed his hands from the sheets and closed them into tight fists instead, the muscles of his jaw tightening as well, until he could feel his gums hurt by how much he was gritting his teeth.

His heart seemed to rebel at the simple concept of not being able to come home to see Naruto's smile, to not hear Naruto's chatter as he prepared breakfast for them both, to not see Naruto's lean body undulating sensually against Itachi's one as his hands caressed his honey-coloured skin, dragging him closer, always closer, never close enough.

If he had been short on breath before, Itachi found the task of taking air in his lungs very much impossible now.

It was almost scary, vertigo chasing his mind as it spun around, and a wheezing sound almost surprised Itachi until he realised it was his own laugh, constricted and squeaky as it had to pass through clenched teeth.

Ah, how could he even think about leaving Naruto, when all the time, just by closing his eyes, the blond Adonis was the only thing he could see?

Itachi had never believed he would fall for someone so much, want to keep them close, want to hold them tight and never let them go, but he had.

Itachi had fallen so hard for Naruto it felt exciting and horrible at the same time, and breathless and scary.

No, he could not leave the blond man.

Bringing one hand to his chest, massaging the skin right above his heart, breathing softly as the pain started to lessen, now that he had finally reached a decision, Itachi forced his body to calm down, absently closing his eyes and smirking to himself.

Well.

If he could not leave his blond man, his sensual, enticing, cheerful and loving Naruto, well then… he would need to make sure that the other man would also never want to leave him.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

Minato stopped a couple of feet away from the temple, readjusting his back–pack.

It was such a familiar sight, and for a moment he simply remained standing there, getting a good look at a place he had been away from for so long.

The first thing he felt, aside for the wave of melancholy, was annoyance; he was a bit peeved, nothing seemed to have changed at all.

Maybe it was a little bit greener around the area, with some trees looking older and taller, more grass and some flowers peeking out on the sides; he remembered how one of the trees was curling to the side of the building, barely tall enough to reach the upper windows, and now the same tree was tall and stretched upwards, way higher than the roof, even.

If anything, the red paint of the tori had faded a bit, showing the wooden maroon of the underneath, and there were more faded lines on the side of the steps, but time had passed on and had barely scratched the temple, leaving it just about the same.

Minato observed carefully the curve of the arched doors, the bright golden and red ornaments scattered all over the surface of the temple, the torii still standing tall and proud, red standing against the blue sky behind them, and took a deep breath.

The two proud lion statues that were guarding the temple, both stuck in the same pose forever, were also the same as before: they stared back at him with mean glares and bared fangs, one with an open mouth, showing its tongue, one with a closed maw, depicted with a wide, ferocious smirk, just as impressive as they had been the last time Minato had visited the temple… almost twenty-five years before.

Yes, nothing had changed, and the feeling was strange; Minato himself had changed, the whole city around them had changed, and yet there it was, memoir of a past that never changed, still looking the same, offering him a short trip to a different time.

He approached the two statues carefully, as if afraid that if he made too much noise, one of the lions would come to life and pounce at him, fangs glinting in the light of the sun. His hand reached out slowly, touching the stone mane of the imposing animal, and he instinctively closed his eyes as he felt the stone cold under his fingertips. He let his fingers dance down the back of the lion, taking a deep breath, caressing the body in a parody of petting a large cat, and concentrated on all the abrasions and imperfections time had carved upon the animal.

The sculptor had been skilful and patient, making this creature out of a marble block one inch at a time, and in Minato's mind he could almost see the mallet falling abruptly, but with patented skills, on the chisel, giving the stone its shape, moulding it slowly and beautifully into such a fierce guardian.

Old skills that he could never stop appreciating, arching their way from the past, showing that beautiful things could still remain, that they were not condemned to be destroyed by man.

His mind wandered back, almost against his will, to that past he was finding now in his present, like leftover remains.

The last time he had been there, his hand caressing the same lion like this, had been with Kushina. She had been at his side, then; she had asked him to take her to his favourite place, wanting him to share it with her.

He wondered briefly, almost sadly, if she had known, at the time, that she had been pregnant. She had said that she wanted to talk to him about something important, and she wanted to do it in a place that would mean something to Minato –she could not do it anywhere else, and the strength of her words had convinced Minato.

Unfortunately, the date, just like numerous others before, had ended in a vicious fight, with Minato cursing, trying to stop his anger from overflowing, and with Kushina storming away from him, tears in her eyes unwilling to fall.

Ah, his relationship with Kushina had had a lot of ups and downs, like probably many couples could testify, and yet the last few months of it had shown far more downs than ups, making it bittersweet for him.

He had felt cramped, forced into a direction he did not feel comfortable with, pressured by everything, unable to make her happy, unable to make himself happy.

Minato wondered, his hand stilling on the lion's mane, what would have happened if he had stayed instead, if he had fought for Kushina.

Would they have raised Naruto together, then? Would they have been happy, despite all the bitter feelings, all the fights, the mean words, and the hurt? Would have Naruto been enough to keep them together?

Shaking his head in dismay, Minato opened his eyes again, and they were filled with a bitter certainty: he should not try to fool himself into believing that whatever he had with Kushina at the time would have been enough to live as the happy family he had always dreamed of. He had been deluding himself, and even back then he had already known that his relationship with her had been over despite his attempts to keep it together just for the sake of it.

Nothing would have saved it, and trying to think he could have done something, after more than twenty years, was just a way to hurt himself more and deny the truth further.

Not even a kid would have helped them, and then… would not it have made Naruto himself unhappy as a child?

No one could want to have a young kid as the glue of a falling apart relationship –it would just be unfair on the child, give him too much pressure, make him feel unfit.

It was painful to admit, but he had been too much of a fool to see the truth of the situation; clinging to an old love was reassuring, calm, even if that love had been already dissolved in smoke, and all that was left was regret.

In his immaturity, he had resented Kushina for the choice he believed she had forced on him; for the few weeks they had eloped together, his bitterness about that choice stirred and grew, and the target of his ill-mood had been, of course, Kushina.

Memories piling up together in his mind, Minato sighed, feeling weary.

He remembered long nights of hard work as a construction worker, returning home to grab a few hours of sleep before going out to his delivery job, wearing himself out and all just to pay the shabby, flea-infested flat they lived in, and a supply of ramen.

He remembered being angry, because while he was working himself off, Kushina slept limply on their futon, body stretched languidly all over it, hair haphazardly scattered everywhere. He remembered how beautiful she had looked before, and how he could not see that beauty anymore then, the sight of her surrounded by empty cups of ramen, equally empty beer bottles, and the ashtrays always filled with cigarettes' butts.

The sight had been jarring and unwelcome. Kushina had been the outlet for all his resentment, his anger, and most of all his self-hatred. He remembered yelling at her, ranting incoherently at her prone form, accusing her of being the cause and the sole reason of every single thing he disliked, no matter what it was.

Looking back, Minato could not believe it; he had turned into one of those men who screamed and verbally abused the women they professed to love, and the thought sickened him.

Not that Kushina ever held anything back, either, giving just as much as he received.

Drunken, stiff and with trembling limbs that never seemed to move the way she wanted them to, Kushina had sent back words of anger and hatred to rival his own.

She had yelled, cried, sent guilt crashing through him, always managing to keep him there some more, until something inside him had snapped and had broken.

Horrified, he realised that Kushina leaving him had actually been a relief, a blessing. This way, he had avoided facing the truth: the fact that the once intelligent, beautiful, independent girl he had fallen in love with had turned into a clingy, drugged addict with eyes injected with red and trembling hands.

Oh, yes –he had known about Kushina's little habits. Their meagre earnings would not have disappeared so quickly if one of them had not taken a nasty habit, and with all the time spent working, Minato did not really have the time, nor the energy, to be the one.

Try as she might, Kushina had never been able to hide the small track marks in-between her toes and on her hips. He had known, but he had chosen to ignore the problem, and instead try to live the dream he and Kushina had eloped for.

He was strong. He did not need help. He could do it all on his own. He…

He had failed, and he had been able to walk away somewhat guilt free, stepping out of Kushina's life and leaving her to fight her own fights. He was a little worse for wear, maybe, but relatively unscathed, with things he could go back to like a little kid. He had rebuilt a life without a care in the world for what had happened to Kushina.

Maybe there had been times he had wondered about her, if the Kushina he had known before had been finally reborn from the ashes of their relationship, but out of guilt, out of cowardice, he had never checked up on her.

He had never wanted to know the real truth.

Even now, standing in front of the temple, he could only think back at her with sadness.

It seemed that nowadays anything tied to his past with Kushina, one way or the other, had the bitter taste of regret.

.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

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To be continued

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– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

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(1) These are names of masters of the Ikebana.

Author Note: The good news is : the lay-out for the next chapter is ready. The bad news: I have no will to write. Reviews might help. (No I'm not blackmailing for review… just a little) :D


	15. Chapter 14

Hello

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Long Vacation nor do I make money out of this. I simply get great satisfaction of having tones of review. ;)

This chapter was written with the help of **StarsOfYaoi**

Sorry for the long wait. I finished writing this chapter in July but it took a lot of time for StarsOfYaoi to do her part. Fortunately, while I was waiting, I decided to write the next chapter which is actually half way done.

**Warning:** Drug Abuse scene

**Thanks all my lovely reviewers: Anonyme ; Kyuubi's death ; Shadowmarialove ; Bella216 ; Narutopokefan ; richon ; 123 ; Thorn dark angel ; I 3YAOI ; makoed ; Aiko Tachibana ; Mikan ; deancaslover ; my roseyangel ; darkspider ; celestiafae (X2) ;the 95****th**** rida ; Rain Dropped ; Tsuukiyomi (X2) ; cariangelus ; sing-to-the-moon ; isis-yolly ; pandora vanity (X2) ; Indosha ; Karin ; Firehedgehog ; Sympathetic ; choclatbandit ; greycat64 ; DismalAbstraction ; KyuuKitsunex3 ; druneko ; LaDiE AkEginU o.0.o ; ocicat0630 ; Sally May ; KitsuneNaru ; Luria ; Anonymous ; Stoic-Genius ; YOU'RE BACK ; The Stereotypical Uke ; writtingsabitch ; GoodMorningFlower ; shadowmarialove ; DarkRavie ; yaoigirl2000 ; pennypigeon ; CashyHoray1.00 ; Kyuubi's death ; itachigurl93 ; MsChleom ; Nique13.**

**.**

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

Long Vacation 14

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

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Ino

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Ino sighed, watching as her phone danced around the table. She glared at it, willing it to stop its infernal buzzing.

She had come to her parents' house to find her phone in pieces; apparently, it had been ringing all night so her father had tried to throw it in the pond to make it stop, and her mother had saved the day (or rather the night) by taking the battery out After that, she had also had to take a scolding from her father for the incessant ringing of her phone –as if she was responsible of people calling and texting her in the middle of the night!

Still, there was a bit of guilt there too, for leaving her phone with her parents instead of shutting it off and keeping it at her side or just redirecting the calls somewhere else.

She let herself fall on the side on the couch, groaning her tiredness out.

"I want to slee-ee-eep," She pouted, sizing up one of her purple pillows and hugging it to her bosom, burying her face in it with another exaggerated sigh.

Her phone began its infernal dance again, approaching dangerously the edge of the table. Ino watched tiredly as it fell on the floor, not so secretly hoping that it would fall with enough force to dislodge the battery, but she had no such luck. She watched dispassionately as her phone made its way across her white carpet to the light brown laminate floor.

That was one hell of a strong vibration setting, she idly pondered, her determination not to answer washed away by her fatigue.

She looked at it for what seemed like hours until her doorbell rang, the loud sound abruptly shocking her out of her torpor. Ino slowly rose up to her feet, throwing the pillow back on her couch with a tired motion; she spared a regretful glance at it as she walked away, already missing its warm, comfortable weight.

She picked up the interphone, tiredly glancing down at the small screen showing the entrée way; she blinked, and blinked again, and finally shook her head: on the screen there was Naruto, standing in front of the door with a bright smile on his face, lightly bouncing on his feet. Ino frowned at him, trying to understand what was happening.

"Breakfast," Naruto explained, shoving a paper bag in front of the small camera as if to answer her unasked question.

Ino giggled a little, taken aback, before pressing the button to open the door for her friend. She watched as Naruto winked at the camera (at her) one last time before pushing the door open.

Knowing that it would take Naruto some time to climb the eight flights of stairs that led to her apartment, Ino used that time to tidy up a little bit, eyes glancing around the room to see if she had missed something while doing so. In the end, she placed her kettle on the burner and waited for the telltale knock on her door to alert her.

It arrived just in time as her kettle began to whistle its little tune. She quickly turned off the burner, running to the door to greet an out-of-breath Naruto, hands on his knees, grinning wildly up at her. She frowned.

"Where is my breakfast?" Ino asked, glaring a little.

Naruto pointed at the side of the door, where he had left the bag. "Just there."

"I boiled water for tea." Ino informed him, taking the bag and shaking it. "What's in there?"

"Donuts." Naruto answered letting himself in.

"Donuts?" Ino asked. "You've got used to luxury, it seems."

With a mischievous smile, Naruto poked her side.

"Don't you want my donuts?" he poked her again. "I can keep them all to myself, you know."

Naruto leaned forwards, sizing the bag from her hands, and made it to the door, only to be stopped by Ino's hand on his arm.

"No need. Since you brought them all the way up here, better eat them."

Ino smiled taking the bag back and holding it close; she could faintly smell the scent of the sugary glaze, and her mouth started to water –she was quite hungry.

"So I heard you had fun yesterday?" Naruto asked, sitting on the couch and looking at her expectantly.

"How do you even know that?" Ino grabbed a plate and placed it down on the glass coffee table, pouring the contents of the bag onto it.

"I have my sources." Naruto said in a singsong voice.

There was a teasing smile on his face and he even winked at her as he took out his phone, playing around with it; Ino frowned, not liking the way Naruto's shoulders were shaking, as if laughing at something.

"What are you laughing at?" Ino asked suspiciously.

Naruto looked up from his phone, a big grin on his face, his blue eyes sparkling with joy. He turned his phone showing the screen to Ino.

"Sai sent me this earlier this morning." he said, trying not to burst out laughing.

On the screen was a low-res picture of Ino, obviously taken with a cellphone. It depicted the statue of TAKAYAMA Hikokuro (1), with her sitting on its back, seemingly as she tried to kiss its cheek.

"WHAT?!" Ino screamed at the top of her lungs, eyes wide in shock.

In her panic, she seized the phone out of Naruto's hands, frantically pressing the buttons on the unfamiliar contraption, trying to find out how to erase the photo from it.

"There is a video too!" Naruto helpfully added, "In which you declare your undying love for the statue… among other ramblings."

"No way!" Ino screamed, her eyes widening in horror. "Who did he send this to? How many people got it?"

Suddenly, Ino had to wonder if her phone had been buzzing only because of Sakura, or if…

"Oh! He just sent it to a couple people with a sense of humor." Naruto reassured her, his grin still in place.

"And what if he sent it to my boss? Or worst if he sent it to Sasuke-kun!" Ino lamented.

"I said he sent it to people with a sense of humor! And that's one of the many qualities your Sasuke-kun is seriously lacking." Naruto replied, rolling his eyes.

Ino turned around to glare at Naruto, as if all of it had been his fault; she couldn't see how he found this all to be so funny, especially if there was a chance she had been publicly shamed by Sai. Since he was still chuckling to himself, she threw a pillow from the couch to his face, and once again pressed a few buttons on the phone, hoping to find the way to erase the pic.

She did not notice Naruto standing up from his seat to walk towards her until he shoved a donut in front of her face, pushing it against her lips and sliding the phone out of her hands at the same time as she bit on the sweet treat.

"Here, it's gone now." Naruto reassured her, showing her the list of pictures on the phone so she could see the incriminating photo was not there anymore.

"Thanks, Naruto." Ino's shoulders slumped in relief then she realized she had yet to serve the tea, and rose to her feet, donut dangling between her teeth, and moved to the kitchen.

When she returned, tea in hand, Naruto was already munching on one donut of his own.

"But of course this isn't the reason for this improvised breakfast, is it?" she asked, placing down a steaming cup in front of him.

"Hehe," Naruto giggled embarrassedly as he rubbed his hair with one hand. "Caught me."

Ino smirked at Naruto's antics: he was so easy to read sometimes. Then she frowned as Naruto's expression abruptly shifted from carefree to serious. She bit on her lower lip, knowing what was coming, but that did not make the conversation any easier to have.

"Sakura is back in town." Naruto informed Ino.

"… I know," Ino answered. "She called me a couple of times."

"She did?" Naruto asked, almost puzzled. "She came to the apartment the day before yesterday."

"You did not let her stay, did you?" Ino asked narrowing her eyes at Naruto.

"I couldn't very well leave her out on her own." Naruto tried to justify himself, cheeks colored red.

"You can't do that to yourself Naruto!" Ino exclaimed letting herself fall on the couch next to Naruto, wanting to grab his hand but holding back.

"I know… Itachi told me that, too…"

Naruto refused to look at her, instead concentrating on the flutters of steam coming from his tea, watching them disappear in the air.

He knew that technically both Ino and Itachi were right, but that did not make him feel any less responsible for the wreck related to Sakura.

"And Itachi is a man full of wisdom." Ino approved, rubbing calming circles on Naruto's back. "I hope he helped you make the right decision in the end."

Naruto shook his head, more to clear his own ideas than as an answer to Ino's words. Yes, he had ended up refusing Sakura because Itachi had been there. If Itachi had not been present, he surely would have allowed her to stay longer.

Even if she had been the one to abruptly end their relationship on the day of their wedding, he still missed her, and felt like he would do the right thing only by giving her the help she requested. It was hard to consider other options as being better than that one.

"But you know, she was important to me… it's not something that you can erase like that." Naruto felt the need to explain. "I _don't_ want to erase her from my life. She is been such a big part of it, for a long time."

"You don't have to, Naruto." Ino reassured him. "But you need the time to heal. Letting her come back so soon can only make you feel more pain."

"I know. I know…" Naruto repeated. "I'm healing. I swear. I'm doing better!"

Ino looked at him suspiciously. "Are you really?"

"I think… no, I _know_… I'm in love with someone!" Naruto revealed with a small yet bright grin.

Ino shuffled closer to him, eyes open wide at the implications of his words. She wanted to know the whole story, especially considering this was the first time Naruto said these words since… well, since Sakura.

If he was really honest, that was a good thing.

As if realizing he had said something he should not have said, Naruto looked around, making a grand show of checking the time on the big wall clock hanging right on the opposite wall. "Oh, look at the time? Time to work already! Sorry Ino!"

With as much dignity as he could muster, he swallowed down the rest of his still hot tea, ignoring the way his throat burnt in pain, and grabbed one of the leftover donuts, this one with a chocolate glaze, stuffing it in his mouth before bolting from his seat.

He was gone before Ino even realized what was happening; the sound of her front door slamming shut the only thing that shook her.

"Noooooooo! Naruto!" Ino screamed, standing up and running to the front door. "You can't leave me standing on the edge like that. I need to know more!"

Unfortunately, by the time she opened the entrance, Naruto was gone already, the sound of his hurried footsteps fading in the distance.

.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

.

Kushina

.

Kushina was standing in front of the imposing building that was her deceased husband's bank.

It had not changed much since the last time she had seen it in person, even if the surroundings had. There was merely a new banner on the front, and the posters attached to the windows and walls were new, depicting some special offer for those who wanted to sign up a lease.

She knew that the Kyûbi worked there, as she had seen it entering the building not even a minute ago, a carefree smile on the face it had stolen.

It did not know she was there.

For a long moment, she dared to let her mind run free, breathing deeply the fresh air and allowing the sun to shine on the uncovered skin of her arms and face, feeling its warmth penetrate inside her. She felt unusually cold, probably because of her closeness with that beast, so she reveled in the warmth, knowing it was a gift given to her to strengthen her resolve.

She tilted her head up to look at the sky, and let herself remember that fateful day of twenty-five years before –the sun had brightened up the azure sky just like today. Kushina loved sunny days, because they reminded her of Minato: she found his blue eyes in the sky, his blond hair in the rays of the sun and his joyfulness in the smiles of people who enjoyed those days just like she did.

She had just finished her shift at the little maid café when her co-worker, Mia, had invited her to go to the Karaoke, where she was going to meet a friend. Kushina still remembered her own hesitation, just a split second, before answering: she was not sure she really wanted to go, but Mia was always so nice to her, always helping, keeping those perverts who wanted to grope her at bay… she had thought that it would be rude not to accept the offer, and besides, that meant she would not have to go back to that crappy flat –there was really no other way to describe Minato and her's love-nest if not with that word.

Even if only for a short while, she wanted to let go.

Mia, Kushina remembered, was quite the unique girl. She had bleached orange hair, and skin so pale it looked like she had not seen the sun in ages; there were always bags under her blood-injected eyes that looked like bruises, and even if she tried hard to think back, Kushina would not be able to remember the actual color of her eyes.

What she could remember well, though, was the thin cut of her parched lips, the way her pupils darted around, always seeking something that she could not find, and the bizarre habit she had of sniffling when she was nervous (which, unfortunately for those who knew her, was quite often).

Now, of course, Kushina would have realized instantly that those were the telltale signs of drug abuse, but back then, she had been too naïve, too innocent to recognize them. How could she even think something like that? She had never known someone who used drugs before Mia, with her sheltered life, barely able to see even the surface of a different life.

So she had gone with Mia to the karaoke, a spring to her steps; happy to go out with the only friend she could count on in the selfish city that was Tôkyô, not knowing that she would regret that decision for the rest of her life.

It was easy to get lost in the streets, but Mia had walked around like she knew her way, moving through small, narrow side-streets with the ability of a navigator. Kushina had followed her closely, barely glancing around to see the glowing neon signs and the advertising everywhere in her haste to not lose her friend into the crowd.

The Karaoke bar Mia chose was a small yet flashy one in the middle of the Shibuya quartier. It looked fancy despite its size, and the receptionists were well dressed and with nice makeup that Kushina had admired, for a moment wishing she could also wear more expensive, beautiful clothes again.

Unfortunately, with the money so tight already, there were always sacrifices to be made, and she could not very well buy herself new attires every time she wanted to.

They had taken a private booth in the back of the local, with nice leather couches and a flat television set where to browse songs. Mia had ordered drinks for both as they had started to sing the night away, waiting for Mia's friend to arrive.

They had sung a good dozen songs and she remembered having drunk a lot of alcohol –a pleasure she had been introduced to a couple of weeks prior thanks to Mia and her fake ID. Kushina had loved alcohol, it made her smile and laugh at everything and anything. Everything became funny and interesting after a few drinks. There were no taboos, no barriers anymore, she just spoke her mind out (whatever came to her mind) –just plain honesty and Kushina liked that.

She remembered him entering without knocking in the middle of a song: A tall guy, with a red hood covering most of his face. She had stood up to give him a piece of her mind for interrupting their fun, but she had stumbled on her own feet, landing pathetically on the floor, with her head resting on the red sofa.

She still remembered the shrill laugh of Mia as she spared her an angry glare from the floor, but they were both wasted and everything was either funnier or more annoying.

Kushina had returned her stare to the man. Even with alcohol running in her veins, making things harder to remember, the memory of meeting that man was still vivid… no, not a man: The beast that had destroyed her life. He was a little over average in height, and had long black hair. Other details were fuzzy, but his appearance was not. She could easily recall that he had exactly nine stripes of red dashing through his hair, and a lip piercing. The hoodie was mainly red too, with yellow, orange and red flames running across its surface, his black, slanted eyes barely visible.

It had introduced itself as Kitsune. She should have known at that moment who… what that beast was, but no. Mia had seemed to trust him, to know him, and Kushina had been lulled into a false state of security. She had not realized back then that Mia had been nothing more than its puppet, which it had used to gain a new victim's trust.

"Do you have it?" Mia had asked.

"Yeah." It had answered, taking a small bag filled with white powder out of his pocket.

Kushina remembered with weird clarity the brilliant smile on Mia's face at the sight of the powder, how she had thrown herself at it, kissing it full on the lips, looking almost tiny in comparison with its body.

Of what had happened afterwards, Kushina did not remember much, except one single image that was engraved in her memory: Mia's face lit in a grin, her eyes glazed over, like she had found some pleasurable place while not moving an inch from the sofa, limbs sprawled on its surface, abandoned like lifeless birds. She had never seen anyone look as happy as Mia had been then.

"You know you want it." It had whispered tentatively in her ear, faking a familiarity that did not exist between them.

His words had sounded like the temptation of a snake, the curiosity flaring up inside her belly, together with the craving for the same sort of happiness Mia was showing.

Yes, she had wanted it. That happiness that seemed to have disappeared from her life in the past few months, swapped with the deep knowledge that she had made a mistake; that she was not cut for the life of a runaway.

At that very moment, she had been ensnared by the Kyûbi without knowing it. The vile creature had insinuated itself in her body, in her blood, inside her brain and in the very air she breathed… wanting to take over her heart, to have complete control.

It had made her a prisoner of the white powder, of the alcohol and of various other drugs… The Kyûbi had been so full of itself, so sure of its control over her, that it had implanted itself into her womb in order to reach the only thing it had not been able to take: her heart.

But she had not let it… No, she had not!

It had been obvious as time passed by, the knowledge settling painfully inside her as she realized the depth of her mistake back then. With that one moment, she had almost lost herself to it.

She would have killed it in order to defeat the horrid beast, if only her parents had let her! But they had been blind, nothing but puppets of their own under its power. They were weak, their minds weak, they only had to lay eyes on it once and then they were ensnared as well.

Nevertheless, she was strong. Alone, fighting off this possession, like a beautiful, desperate heroine, Kushina had sent her heart to safety, far out of reach of Kyûbi, for so long that she had almost forgotten how it felt to have it close by. But now, her heart had somehow been found again: Her Minato.

Kushina let a smile form on her face as she shook herself out of her memories, stepping off the sidewalk and keeping a sedated pace as she entered the building; she would make sure it would never get to him, by whatever means necessary.

.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

.

Miko

.

Miko was sitting in one of those uncomfortable, plastic brown chairs that could be found in the white, sterile waiting room of the hospital.

Around her, white walls with an underline streak of blue looked empty and unattractive, so she stared instead at the people milling around her like a beehive, circling around her like she was not even present, minding their own business.

Usually she liked it. It left her free to observe the world like an outsider, ponder about her life, about the lives of her loved ones. Almost an invisible onlooker, Miko would let their lives wash through her, untouched and foreign… but not today. Today, she did not want to be there on that plastic chair, watching people live their life all around her.

Everything felt like it was moving too fast, and the fact that she was almost the only one of the patients sitting there made her feel cold and alone. Everybody was moving on while she was stuck there in waiting, unable to concentrate but also unable to let her mind wander.

She glanced up at the sterile wall, eyes zooming in on the clock as her hands unconsciously wrinkled the hem of her shirt: ten more minutes. She relaxed her grip again, smoothing the shirt back to its pristine state. Today, she had forgone her traditional garments for something more western in style –a light blue blouse and a long floral patterned skirt, easier to put on and take off at a moment's notice.

She did not know why she was so nervous this time around: after all, she had done this often since the day she was born, every year without ever missing a single time, on this very same day.

Miko took a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes. Everything was going to be all right, like every single time before. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. She concentrated on the sound of her beating heart until it was the only noise she could hear, calming the sensation of growing impatience inside her.

She stayed like that until a familiar music reached her ears: the pinching sounds of the shamisen (2) playing the first stanza of "Sakura, Sakura". (3) She shook her head, trying to find where the music came from. It took her a second to realize it came from her own bag. Reaching inside it for the origin of the noise, she found the old flip cell phone Sakura had given her. Standing quickly, she bowed to the woman sitting a few seats over, trying to convey her apology for the disturbance, and marched briskly to a more secluded area.

Standing awkwardly against a column, she flipped the phone open.

"Moshi moshi?" She asked tentatively.

She did not use the device all that much. To tell the truth, most of the time she forgot all about it and it stayed abandoned in her bag or on some table at her house until it either rang, declaring its continuing existence, or ran out of battery. In that case, it took a lot of time before she would even remember about it. Anyway, if someone needed to reach her, they had better to call her at home. There was only one person stubborn enough to continuously call her on that device as even her husband had understood that she would never adopt that trend.

As such, the trepidation she felt when answering had the right roots.

"Kaa-san (4)? It's Sakura!" The voice came over the speaker, filling her ears with the familiar tone of her daughter.

Miko placed a delicate hand over her mouth to muffle a cry, and her eyes watered as she savored the voice of her little girl after so long without news.

"Mum? You're there?" Sakura asked again.

"…Hai," Miko stammered out, letting a smile form on her face.

Maybe her little girl was calling to tell her she was coming home.

Maybe she had finally learned her lesson, hard-earned but earned all the same. Everything would fall back into its place, and Miko would be able to take a breather again.

"Kaa-chan, I need money. I went to the bank to get some, but my card was swallowed and they said that the gold card was cancelled by dad. I tried my other card and they took it too! They said I had overdrawn and was in the red, for over ten thousand. They won't give my card back! But it should not be possible because my allowance should be in my account already… But they said that you stopped the transfer, why did you not wire my money this month? I need the money… and, and I have nowhere to stay! Naruto won't let me in the apartment: it's OUR apartment! Can you believe the gall of him?! And he got that stranger in there, living there like he owns the place! He got Naruto to kick me out. If it hadn't been for him I would not be in this situation! And why is Naruto able to get a stranger in OUR apartment without my permission!" Sakura babbled quickly.

Miko felt the phone slip from her hand.

Was this…was this materialistic woman really her little girl?

Miko closed her eyes, denying reality, thinking back. She remembered her five-years old daughter with her beautiful black hair fluttering in the wind, smiling and swirling round and round in her beautiful princess gown, until she had fallen on the sand of her father's Zen garden, giggling joyfully.

She could hardly reconcile that memory of her sweet, simple Sakura with the person who had just called her: Asking for money; Grumbling about the apartment that should have been hers, if things had gone differently.

This woman she called her daughter had just called her for the first time since leaving just to ask for money, clearly blind to all the chaos she had caused with her departure, not even stopping a moment to ask how she was, how her father was, how Naruto was.

No grief, no regret in her voice, just a whiny tone that could only suit a little kid, not an adult.

"Haruno-san… Are you all right?"

Miko blinked and looked up, seeing a nurse looking down at her with a gentle, worried expression. It was her appointed doctor's nurse, so she knew her.

She suddenly realized there was wetness on her cheeks, and she hesitantly brought her wrinkled fingers up to her face, touching her skin, feeling the tears as they rolled down, unable to stop them. Gently, she wiped them away, composing herself.

"It's time for your appointment, Haruno-san." The nurse whispered guiding her slowly to her doctor.

The nurse stopped for a second, bend down to retrieve the phone which laid in pieces on the floor.

"It's nothing don't worry, Haruno-san. I'll put it back together for you." The nurse reassured Miko, assuming that the woman was upset over her broken phone.

"Thank you." Miko answered absentmindedly, her mind reeling with thoughts, trying to find where she had gone wrong raising Sakura.

.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

.

Omiai

.

Tsunitsu Kimiko, twenty-five, was mortified to learn her parents had organized an Omiai for her without her knowledge.

It was, without a doubt, her mother's idea; her father was perfectly content with her being his little girl, almost in denial of her actual age. She was, of course, perfectly content playing that role.

Oh, no, not to mistake her for a nun. She knew how to have fun. She even had two boyfriends! Though, of course, she had never mentioned either of them to her parents. That was her own thing.

She sighed.

Yes, ok, she was pathetic! But not pathetic enough to need an omiai to find someone!

She checked herself in the mirror, trying to adjust the curls of her new haircut –the one her coworkers had chosen for her at the hairstylist salon. She looked so natural, and it made her face look better. She felt so pretty, and adding to that the discreet makeup her friends had helped her apply, the new yellow plated skirt also chosen with the help of her aforementioned friends and the cute little blouse, she knew she would seem dashing to anybody.

As an added, last touch, she had placed a small yellow bow on her hair, twisting it slightly to fit with the fashion tips from her magazines.

Yes, she looked perfect.

Her brown hair curled lightly around the frame of her face, her wide eyes making an even nicer contrast thanks to the makeup, and her lips, gently touched up by a light lip-gloss that made them look wet and soft and looked plump and kissable.

She admired herself in the windowpane of a shop, making sure that everything was in its place, and winked at her reflection, ignoring the looks of a few elderly passers-by –after all, she liked what she saw of herself, and had nothing to feel sorry for. She was a young woman, and the world was hers.

The café chosen for the omiai date was just a couple streets down from where she lived. It was a nice little place, and she'd been there once or twice, always thinking it would be perfect for a first date: not too romantic, a bit casual but not overly so.

It would be equally good for a date or with friends, since it was lively and never too crowded, but busy enough to show it was in good business.

It had pale orange walls bordered with white, with cute chairs both inside and outside, and they always offered something free with every order, either small samples of pastries or chips.

She pushed the door open, hearing the soft bell ringing to announce the entrance of a new customer, and glanced around. There were a few customers at that time of the day, mostly young people in groups, with a few couples that looked completely lost to the world, oblivious to anyone but each other.

The sight made something twist inside her, touched by the clear devotion she saw on their faces. She smiled to herself, touching her face lightly. It was so beautiful! She wanted that sort of relationship, too.

Her two boyfriends were nice, but they were not couple material most of the time. They wanted to have fun, dance and drink and party, but very rarely treated her the way she wanted. It was probably every girl's dream to be treated like a princess, revered and looked at with love.

Would she be able to have this with a complete stranger?

It did not seem quite possible to her. She let out a defeated sigh, and looked at the picture her parents had given her.

She had to admit it. The man was handsome, with his laughing blue eyes and his vibrant blond hair; he had quite the exotic look. Compared to him, with those model looks, she looked so common, so… bland!

What if he did not like her?

Maybe it would be better if she did not go. She would be able to say she had misunderstood the time, and got there too late, and then she could just forget all about it. He was not someone for her anyway…

As she turned around to leave, she came face to torso with a stranger, stumbling on her feet and falling on the floor.

"Oh sorry, sorry, Tsunitsu-san!" The stranger said.

Kimiko looked up at the hand extended for her to grab, and met those sparkling blue eyes belonging to her date.

She felt a little flustered, the man was even more handsome in person, if that was possible.

Hi hand closed around hers and she felt herself being pulled up in a standing position. She stumbled on her feet and looked down noticing she had broken her heel: Definitely not her day.

"They were brand new," She mourned as she took off her other shoe and knelt to gather the pieces of the broken one in her hands.

"I'm really sorry!" The man exclaimed. "I'll buy you new ones!"

"Oh no, that won't be necessary!" Kimiko exclaimed as she was led to a table.

Despite her previous thought about not going, she found herself walking along, unable to say no to that bright, sheepish face.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." The man said with an embarrassed smile as they were sat down. "Nice to meet you, Tsunitsu-san."

Swallowing in distress, Kimiko stared at the man sitting on the opposite side of the table, her eyes wide. She was paralyzed, not knowing what to say nor what to do. She gulped audibly.

"Tsu-Tsunitsu Kimiko." She stuttered. "You can call me Kimiko, Naruto-kun."

She looked down at the surface of the table, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Maybe she was being too forwards, too direct with him, but he had an aura of friendliness that was hard to ignore. She dared to look up shyly at the handsome man, and found him smiling brightly at her, and her awkwardness slowly abated, leaving her feeling relieved.

"So, do you know what you want to order Kimiko-chan?" Naruto-kun asked.

"A bleach Melba ice cream." She answered realizing that the waitress was standing at their side, waiting for her order.

As soon as their order had been taken, they began to talk away about their work, their friends and their hobbies.

Naruto was a compelling narrator, and she quickly realized that despite having some common interests –languages, drawings, history…– they had quite different taste: Naruto was a fun-loving, talkative, bright person who could not stand in one place for more than a few minutes and needed to keep his hands and mind busy at all time, whereas she preferred calmer situations, and loved to take a moment to stop and relax, and feel life rush around her without touching her.

Kimiko could not believe someone like him would ever need an omiai to find a partner.

"Omiai?" Naruto-kun asked, shaking Kimiko out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking out loud!" Kimiko explained her cheeks flushed. "I was wondering why a man like you would need an omiai."

"Is this what this is?" Naruto-kun asked surprised.

Kimiko's face fell, looking stunned at Naruto-kun as he began to mutter under his breath about a manipulative old grand-mother who would better minding her own business!

Kimiko felt defeated. Of course, he was too good to be true.

Someone had put him up for an omiai without even telling him. At least her mother had been nice enough to warn her before the actual date.

"Ah Sorry, Kimiko-chan. It's really not your fault. It's Tsunade-baa-chan's fault…" Naruto explained realizing what it must be like for Kimiko. "But you see, Tsunade-baa-chan –she is not really my baa-chan but if I had one I guess she would be like this– she is so worried about me…"

Kimiko silently listened as Naruto proceeded to tell her about his fiancée leaving him at the altar, and the subsequent drop of his mood at that. She marveled about how any woman could leave such a handsome, charming fellow, just to pursue the shadow of a man she had never even met before.

There was no way anybody would not be wooed by Naruto and his gentle, bright mood, as she herself was feeling her heart ache because of what he was saying.

She listened to him talk about his heartache and about how lonely he had felt, the feeling he would never be able to find love again, he who was so unlovable, as the one he thought he had loved apparently found him lacking. Her heart, equally aching at his words, made her smile back at him, trying to lift that sad expression and make it disappear.

She knew that if she had been in the place of his ex-fiancée, she would have never made him this sad.

She rejoiced when he talked about how he had fallen in love with a new person, a person who listened to him, who understood him, who was there for him and who respected him and maybe who even loved him back.

"I'm _sorry_, Kimiko-chan." Naruto-kun bowed slightly over his cup of ice cream. "I did not mean to mislead you. I'm sorry to have disappointed you. You came here to meet a possible future husband… but it can't be me. I'm really sorry."

Kimiko's smile turned wider. She would have loved to have someone like him as a husband. He surely knew how to treat someone with love, and devote to them all of his attention. But alas, the most handsome guys are always taken, or running for the opposite team.

"We can be friend, if you want?" Naruto-kun asked with a hopeful smile.

"I did not get a husband, but I got a friend out of the deal. It's not so bad." Kimiko said bravely as she took a sip of the complementary orange juice she had ordered, that the waitress had just settled in front of her.

And she meant it.

.

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

.

Minato

.

Minato did not know what to say, or what to feel.

After all those years, the long lost Kushina was standing there in front of him, like coming out from a dream.

He had been busy working, not even daring to entertain himself with thoughts unrelated to his job, and when he had looked up, she had been there.

Her fiery red hair fluttering slightly in the breeze, her pale blue eyes sparkling with life as they searched for his own for the first time in twenty-four years, shoulders pushed back and gaze held strong.

He stood there, staring at her without blinking as he tried to come to terms with this sudden rush to the past, absently finding himself comparing this person with the one he had been with back then, finding that all he could do was stare at her like she was just a vaguely familiar stranger.

There was a dizzying sort of truth in that. A person who had been once so close to him now was naught more than someone he could catch walking on the street, someone he had nothing left in common with.

Slowly, the memories came back, almost regretfully: her little smile, accompanied with a slight tilt of her head when he said something funny, her shy demeanor as she constantly pulled her uniform skirt down trying to stop it from rising too far up when they sat at the fountain edge, the feel of her soft skin under his rough fingers as he seized her small hand in his own while they walked down a path in the park.

He let a smile draw itself on his face, savoring the weird nostalgia of his first love, happy memories of her red hair tied in a big bow, her blue eyes sparkling with laugher as she gazed at him. Running back on the tracks of time, to the Kushina he had fallen in love with.

She was standing in front of him in her well-fitted marine-colored jacket, with the glaring red and gold emblem of her prestigious private school neatly placed just above her heart, a red necktie cutely knotted in a long bow that descended over her slightly wrinkled white blouse, her delicately plated skirt with a blue and green Scottish pattern stopping a hair above her knees, revealing the pasty tone of her legs.

Beautiful and young, her eyes sparkling with love.

"Minato?" came the sweet voice, not so different from twenty four years ago, maybe just a little less sweet, a bit more mature…

And Minato's illusion shattered, just like it did all those years ago, breaking in million fragments, revealing the harsh truth underneath. He remembered the fights, the screams, the hoarse accusations and the tangy, bitter scent of alcohol, stale food and sweat.

He blinked, trying to regain his footing, get a grip of reality.

All this feelings he had, it was all in the past… But all he could see now was that stranger again: the one he had lived with for months before getting free; the stranger who had taken over his first love and turned it sour. That foul person who cursed and drank, and did all sort of things that his first love, his sweet Kushina, would have never even thought about doing…

He watched, still as a statue, as this stranger stepped towards him, and grabbed his hand in hers, her nails scratching slightly the palm of his hands.

Again, another unwanted memory of the past, when he had come back from a double shift at the construction site, hoping to find his Kushina, only to see this stranger instead, wearing his love's sweet face as a mask, completely wasted out of her mind. The shirt that was Kushina's was covered in crass and soiled with alcohol, smelling as disgusting as vomit, and the hair he had loved so much looked like they had not seen a brush in days.

The stranger that was not Kushina anymore had rushed towards him with a bottle in hand, screaming incoherent, slurred words, wild accusations of him leaving her for someone else. Her words still rang in his mind, carved there forever together with the foul smell of her breath, her hands clenched into fists and slamming repeatedly against his chest, weak and unable to really hurt.

As if realizing this, she had dug her nails into his palm, breaking the skin and making him bleed, all the while accusing him of being a monster, of leaving her all alone, forcing her to be a prisoner of herself.

Back then, Minato had been unable to say a word, only staring at this woman who looked so much like the one he loved, but that had nothing of her at the same time. He did not know her anymore.

"This is all your fault! All your fault!" She had yelled at him again and again.

Minato had not wanted to deal with that stranger; all he had wanted was for his Kushina to come back. He had thought that given time and with his careful, gentle love, his Kushina would come back. But the more time passed the less hope he had and the guiltier he felt. Every day returning to that stranger he felt nothing for but disgust and anger, he had felt wearier and wearier.

This was not what he had expected when he had decided to stay with her and devote all his life to her.

Some days, he would somewhat explode like a cooker letting out the steam: he would yell at her for the smallest things –like that one time when he had come home to find her in a new dress, sitting at the candle-lit table with two cups of steaming ramen served in her idea of a romantic dinner.

Afterwards, he had felt bad, like he was a stranger to himself as well. He could understand that she was having trouble too, but he had acted against her nonetheless, with words of hatred he had not known he possessed. It could not have been him screaming those horrible things… and yet, even though it was partly his fault, he had resented her for making him feel that way.

He had cried bitter tears of self-loathing and despair, wondering if this was really the way things had to go, when all he had wanted was love and a small place for them both. He thought they would be happy even through darker times but no… he had been so wrong.

He clenched his jaw, forcing himself out of those painful memories

There was no way he wanted to feel like that ever again. He did not want to see this stranger back in his life, not even for a moment. Not even for the sake of his son.

His son… the son she had stolen from him! She had stolen so many things from him before: His first love, his parents, and a son. _His_ son! A son he could have loved regardless of who his mother was. This stranger.

He would have loved being able to have a son despite where he was coming from, but to have that taken away from him…

He wrenched his hand out of her grip, stopping her chatter to which he had been deaf to until then.

"Minato?"

Now the voice did not sound anything like the voice of his Kushina, he recognized it as the perfect match to that stranger who had tried to pass herself off as his Kushina. Too many years had passed by, and he had grown to accept himself and his wrongdoings, but… not hers. Not her.

"Who are you?" He blurted out the question that he had burned to ask all those years.

Minato turned his back on her, agitated, scornful then looked back at her, unable to show her his back for fear of… of what, he did not know, but fear nonetheless. He faced the woman who had been wearing for too long time the face of his first love, and his blue eyes narrowed in anger, turning darker with those thoughts in mind.

He met her gaze straight on, searching deeply inside for the remains of the woman he had known, only to find nothing.

That person had lost whatever resemblance she bore to his love, and was just the living embodiment of someone he did not know.

There was hurt on her face, and incomprehension, and he felt strangely satisfied to have been the one to put it there. It was a childish form of payback, and he was aware of it, but he did not care.

She had taken so much away from him that if this was what he could get back, he would do it.

"Who are you?" He repeated his voice full of anger.

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– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

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Sakura

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Sakura was fuming.

First, Naruto had thrown her out of HER apartment: it was hers by rights since her parents had bought it for her! For _her_ and not for _him_!

Then again, an orphan like him surely could not know what it meant to have the gift of a parent's love, so he would certainly try every chance he had to feel the love of a true parent. That of course did not mean he could try and steal her parents' love for himself.

Second: when she had tried to get all this shit out of her system with a night out, she had unreasonably been blacklisted for no reason. Why on Earth would she, the princess of Kyôtô night life, be blacklisted, was beyond her! She had tried to call her partner in crime but Ino would not answer the phone no matter how many times she called.

Because of that, the night had turned into a huge failure, making her anger grow even more.

She had had nowhere to stay and ended up staying in one of those cheap tourists traps, it was not the first time she spent a night there but she usually got company to have some happy times, and it was really creepy when you were alone –very much like going to a love hotel on her own. She had spent a really horrible night there.

In the morning, she had tried to call Ino again, but once more she had been unable to reach her friend, no matter how long she tried. She was beginning to think that Ino was filtering her call! But why?

She shook her head: What a ridiculous thought! No, Ino was her best-est friend. There was no one she trusted more to always be there for her, at her side.

Her day then went from bad to worse when, after trying to get some money at an ATM machine of one of the branches of her bank, her card had been swallowed by the machine and when she called the bank they had said her gold card had been cancelled.

Why would her dad do that to her?

She had not dwelled too long on that because just after that, her own card attached to her personal account, was confiscated because she had apparently overdrawn. She had tried to explain to the incompetent, obviously part-time banker that it should not have been possible since her allowance from her very rich and very generous parents had been due two days ago, consequently she should not be in the red anymore, and that little upstart idiot had just claimed that her mother, her _own_ mother, had cancelled her monthly allowance.

Absurd!

She had finally ended up calling her mother to shut the snotty banker up and, as she always did when she was upset, she began ranting all her problems away at her mother. She was explaining how Naruto unlawfully invited some stranger to their home and that Naruto had somehow, somewhat fallen under some kind of spell or something and was being mind-controlled by the red-eyed stranger, when her mother, her own mother, the woman who gave birth to her, just hung up on her.

Sakura had been so upset, she nearly through her phone across the room but she managed to rein her temper. She had glared one last time at the snob looking banker before gathering her things in her bag and leaving, head held high. She did not need those cards anyway: she still had one more left.

But now, her day was turning a bit better.

A friend from the beauty school had called her, in need for a good make-up artist. Of course, Sakura had been her first thought; the job was for a gig with some up and coming model… Mia, Maria, Mai or something like that, who had to have a fashion spray in ViVi (5).

She had finished the makeup flawlessly, turning the rather plain model into the super cute doll that Japanese women loved and envied so much; she had even done the raving girl a superb, sublime manicure –or nail make-up, as Sakura liked to call it– and had been highly praised and paid for that hard work.

She could proudly say that she was no-longer homeless in her own town, as she had booked herself in one of the most comfortable high-end hotel in Kyôto. Her father's name did hold some weight!

And there she was, sitting in a massage chair as a young, plain and forgettable lady was massing the sole of her left foot, while she was sipping a fruity cocktail. Not a bad taste, what she needed after such a horrible period. She looked at her manicured hand, admiring the handy work of the helper, not as good as her own art but good enough.

She eyed the pile of magazines sitting next to her on the small wooden pedestal: most of them were Europeans and Americans like Vogue or Marie Claire, especially bought for the mostly foreign clientele. However there were one or two Japanese ones which she managed to fetch out of the pile.

She caught a flash of familiar blond hair leafing through the pages trying to find something interesting to read. She knew that peculiar shade of blond, the shade of blond specific only to her ex-fiancé. In all honesty, Naruto did not belong to this kind of magazines, _her_ kind of magazines –if that knuckle head ever get to be in a magazine it would be the boring sort like The Economist: the kind nobody of interest ever appeared in or even read, for that matter.

She stopped and frantically flipped through the magazine backwards, trying to find the incriminated page.

Maybe inviting that stranger to live with him was not the only crazy thing Naruto had done after losing her. She could perfectly understand how distressed Naruto must have been after losing her –not that she ever belonged to him, she only belonged to Sasuke-kun… but Naruto had believed that she was his once, had he not–, he must have gone slightly crazy without her to ground him.

She felt a twitch of guilt which she quickly dismissed. She had to live her own life, seek her own happiness and she could not, would not, be held responsible of Naruto losing his own. She just hoped that he did not do anything too drastic. Even though, the presence of this stranger in her home spelled trouble.

She wondered if she should not at least offer Naruto some words of advice to bring him back to the road of good…

She finally found the page.

Her jaw went slack and her eyes widened: how was this possible?!

She rubbed her eyes smearing her make-up all over her cheeks with the palm of her hands.

Right there, on a glossy double-page, was Naruto, leaning against a wall. The pose was provocative, evoking in Sakura the classic poses requested to male models for body products. She could only see Naruto's profile in that photo, but even she could say that it looked good.

His blue gaze, usually already penetrant on its own, was now magnified by a tastefully applied makeup, and it was staring straight ahead, towards the camera, intense and vibrant, the blue even more vivid than usual. His blond hair was artfully spiked up, a fancier version of his usual haircut, and despite the spikes it looked soft; his bare torso was glistening, poised in a lazy, provoking stance, accentuating the masculine feel of his body in a drool-worthy way.

To end it, his pants hang enticingly low on his hips, offering a barely-visible-but-there view of the lines of his pelvis, and his footwear was matching the color of his pants.

In one word, Naruto, her Naruto, looked like a Greek God.

Sakura could hardly believe this was the man she abandoned at the altar and, for a second, she thought she might have made a mistake.

She blinked, turning her mind back to analyzing the Adonis body on the glossy page. She suddenly took notice of Naruto's redder than usual lips –like they had just been ravaged in a passionate kiss– were inches away from someone else's ear.

And for the first time, Sakura took notice of the two other characters posing in the picture.

Here, standing next to her Adonis ex-fiancé, stood her equally handsome, future husband: UCHIHA Sasuke, sporting as many articles of clothes as Naruto. His eyes had a droopy quality to them that spoke of a bed-gaze, dripping with sexiness and promising exciting whispers to her ear. His posture was made to complement Naruto's one, and his body was glistening, accentuating every curve and muscle of his frame, making him look strong and commanding, beckoning the eye of the viewer.

Sakura was staring at his body, taking on every curve of every muscle on her future husband. She frowned annoyed that some parts of that perfect body were hidden by the third and last participant of the photo who was draped wantonly over HER future husband.

Her eyes turned to the hussy: her obviously photo-shopped figure hugging HER future husband's body like she had some kind of right over his body. Sakura stared at the profile of the hoe whose mouth, like Naruto's one, was millimeters away from her Sasuke-kun's ear.

She could not believe it. There, staring at her with pale blue eyes and pale blond hair pulled in a high ponytail was the person she had, until now, considered like her sister.

"BITCH!" Sakura yelled throwing the magazine at the wall startling the masseuse. "If she thinks she can steal MY husband like that!"

She roughly tore her foot away from the petite girl massaging it and walked out like a girl on a mission.

The war was on. And Ino would pay dearly for her betrayal!

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– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

End of the 14th chapter of Long Vacation

– LV – LV – LV – LV – LV –

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(1) TAKAYAMA Hikokuro (1747-1793) was a Samurai of the Edo period and has a statue in somewhere in Kyôtô.

(2) Shamisen: three-stringed Japanese musical instrument

(3) Sakura Sakura: is a real traditional child song.

(4) kaa-san = (O)kaasan = mother/mum

(5) ViVi: is a Japanese magazine


End file.
